Shroud of the Shadow
by jlcleaumus
Summary: AU. Before the duel on Mustafar Anakin receives a vision from the Force. Now he must find a different alternative to defeating Palpatine as time runs out on the fledgling Rebel Alliance. Includes speculated background of Palpatine too. COMPLETED!
1. Prologue Part I

I don't own Star Wars or any of its characters, Lucasfilms does.

First ever fanfic, not sure what I am doing yet, so please be patient.

**_I just noticed that the website didn't recognize my double spacing in Microsoft Word, so I have inserted breaks into places where they are necessary. I am very sorry for any previous confusion. Hopefully the story will be much more clearer now._**

Prologue-Part I

Mustafar-End of Episode III

It all became clear to Anakin Skywalker the moment he saw Obi-Wan standing inside Padme's ship. It was a trap, and the one person he loved more than anyone else in this pathetic galaxy had sprung it upon him. She had brought him here, led Obi-Wan here to kill him. Anakin Skywalker could not hear by now; he couldn't hear his own voice, couldn't hear his former master reasoning, his wife pleading with him. With all that he was Anakin stared at Obi-Wan, focusing every fiber of his hate onto his former master. The hate burned inside him, fueled him, giving him the strength, energy, and resolve that he sustained his will to live.

And then he looked at Padme and almost lost that will. How could she? After all they've been through, all that he had done for her, how could she betray him now? For her misguided beliefs in a corrupt government? For a Jedi Order that she barely understood? For Obi-Wan? He could not bear to see her snatched from him by his former master, his "friend".

The opposite of love is apathy, a feeling that Anakin could never feel for Padme. Hatred, however is quite a close relative of love, and hatred seized his fragile heart as he looked at his wife now. Hatred, betrayal, jealousy. He wanted to destroy her, to destroy Obi-Wan, to destroy his hurt, to destroy his feelings so that all that remained was pure apathy. Anakin did not see his hand move up, did not feel his fingers move closer together, and yet somewhere he was aware of everything he did, everything he felt. The pain of betrayal…he had betrayed the Jedi Order for her, killed Mace Windu, pledged his allegiance to his natural enemy, slaughtered children and younglings…

_Oh God, what have I done?_

Anakin's fragile mind finally collapsed, capsizing into a torrent of conflicting emotions of guilt, regret, hatred…love. He did not see anymore, did not think, did not analyze. He felt. Purely. And the Force took him. It carried him; it encompassed everything he was. And for a second, Anakin ceased to be.

Padme watched her husband in horror. She wanted to hold him, to comfort him, to tell him everything was alright, that she'll forgive anything and everything he's ever done. She wanted to rationalize herself, defend herself, her beliefs and accuse him of turning his back on everything she stood for. And when she saw the hate in his eyes, the premonitions of violence, she wanted to run away from this hellish planet, from the possessed remains of what used to be her husband, to forget everything, to not feel anymore. And then, to her horror, he disappeared. No, she could still feel him, his presence, but the man who stood threateningly before her just a second ago had vanished.

Obi-Wan Kenobi did not know what to do with his former Padawan, his best friend, his brother. Could he save him from the storm clouds that whirled in his heart? The more Obi-Wan saw, felt, the more he was coming to understand that Anakin Skywalker was beyond salvage. He was pure Sith now, pure darkness, pure evil, and it was his duty to rid the Galaxy of the greatest evil it was about to encounter. As his Padawan's eyes parted from his and onto Padme's, Obi-Wan felt a sick horror and guilt. He should have never brought her into this…but he had no choice. Thoughts previously focused on saving Anakin suddenly shifted to saving the innocent bystander that stood before him as Obi-Wan realized what Anakin was about to do.

"Anakin, no…" That was all he could say before everything stopped. No it didn't stop, it changed, everything changed. He couldn't see Anakin before him anymore, and yet he felt him surrounding him, stronger than ever…_part of the Force_? It couldn't be. Obi-Wan was a Jedi Master, and he knew what he thought he saw was…well…impossible, never recorded, unprecedented…and yet, as a Jedi Master, Obi-Wan knew what he felt. Who he felt. And, now trembling, Obi-Wan felt another.

* * *

The Galaxy was spread before him, wondrous, alive, infinite, his. It was all his, he saw all. Anakin felt he could control the endless masses of space and planets and living things that he now saw, and _felt,_ with clarity. He was the force, and he would unleash the full fury of it…but did he really want that? Did he really want control? Power? Over everything? He knew he could have it, it was within his grasp, but to his increasing horror Anakin Skywalker realized that all he wanted was the one that was slipping away from him. Padme. He saw her, focused on her 

_your focus determines your reality_

standing on a lonely planet, helpless, hopeless, clinging to life… No! Did he hurt her? Did he actually choke her like he had momentarily wanted? No, he hadn't. But then why was she dying, even now, slowly slipping away not from himself but from the world?

_Look inside her, Anakin. Feel her._

Anakin trembled as he heard a familiar, yet ancient voice whisper to him. That voice became part of him, as it always had been. It was the Force. Qui-Gon. How?

_It matters not. Anakin, you must feel. Let yourself go._

And Anakin Skywalker stopped thinking. He felt. He reached into his tormented heart momentarily, and then Padme's. And he finally realized that he was the one who was killing his beloved Angel, killing her inside. He felt her love for him, so complete, such an essential _part_ of her, of who she was, that without this love, she did not want to live, to exist.

_And he had betrayed that love_. He was killing her. He was fulfilling his own prophecies, nightmares all the while as he tried to save her. His medicine was her poison. And then Anakin Skywalker transcended time.

He saw the past, the present, the future. He saw Palpatine…Sidious, his manipulations of the Senate, the Separatists, the Jedi's, his own heart and ego. He saw Sidious now, hurling Senate pods at Yoda in a battle the Jedi Master was predestined to lose. And he saw himself, hurting Padme, choking her, trying to hurt…kill, his mentor and best friend. He saw every nightmare come true, saw himself burning in the fire, unable to move, and then darkness. Pure darkness.

He saw the first time he met Padme, how he knew he was going to marry her _(and kill her?), _saw the kiss he stole from her, their exclamation of their love before certain death, their marriage…he saw his Padme dying on an alien table, in childbirth, in despair, and yet hope. Their child…children?…running away, hiding, hurting, because of him? No, the monster (Vader) that he had become, that he already was, that he always has been. Darkness, pure darkness.

There was only one past, one present, but as Anakin retreated from that dark path, he saw many futures, swirling about. He saw the light, he saw himself repenting, swearing another allegiance, back to Obi-Wan and what was left of the Jedi. And he saw darkness pursuing his light, his family, with no end in sight. He saw his family's never ending flight from Sidious, and again, _NO!_ Padme dying. In his arms. Her precious life sucked away by the darkness, and lasers, and blasters. And he saw his children fall into the darkness.

Was she doomed to die, no matter what path he chose? Was the darkness always going to prevail? Was it useless?

_Anakin, there is more to the Force than black and white._

There it was, how could he have not seen it, without Qui-Gon's prompting. There were so many paths, so many futures, so many colors in the middle, between the darkness and the light. All he could see was colors now, every single possible shade swirling into one, it was life, it was all the Galaxy was, for good, for evil, or for something in between. Yes, there was darkness in these colors, crawling about, but there was also light, and there was grey, and they all formed such a perfect precious balance with one another. The path was cloudy with colors, but suddenly all the colors rearranged themselves into something so beautiful, so alive, so breathtaking…

He saw, mountains, trees, animals…no, that was just a reflection…in a beautiful lake. There were meadows around the lake, waterfalls, a cottage…a family. It was him, and Padme…and two children, a boy and a girl _Luke and Leia_, and they, we, were all so happy, so free, so alive.

Anakin understood now. He understood what he needed to do, what his destiny was. He would bring balance to the Force, not around him, but within him. He could do it, he was the only one capable of doing it. And though he did not know where this path would lead him, he knew the final destination. So Anakin drifted out of the ethereal and back to reality.

* * *

Padme saw him first, as she always has. And though in her world her husband had only vanished for but a few seconds, those eternal clicks of the clock had overcome her with endless dread and loss, so relief was her first priority. Just seeing him again made her forget for a few moments all that had transpired in the last few days. 

"Oh Ani, where…"

"It matters not, Angel." He walked towards her, with no malice in his swift, almost graceful, movements. Something was different about him. He no longer had a flame burning in his eyes; they were calm, understanding, and even wise. The innocence that had lingered even through the darkness of war was gone, replaced by a knowing look of someone beyond their years, not jaded, but knowledgeable. The intensity, the same glaring passion that she had first seen when he was still a little kid was still there, and she knew that his love for her remained unspoiled and unchanged.

He finally reached her and they locked each other in an embrace of those who had not seen each other for decades. It seemed like decades to Anakin, even though he had been gone only a few seconds. "Padme, I'm so sorry for everything…"

"Anakin, it's okay. I don't care what happened in the past. What's important is that you're back, you're…" she searched for the diplomatic word to use, "Ani again, not whatever possessed you before you…I don't even know."

"Anakin, it's not your fault." Obi-Wan was as confused as Padme, if not more because of what he knew, or rather felt, about what had just transpired. Still, as tried to maintain his composure, he could barely contain the inner joy over what he saw in Anakin right now. The darkness was still in him, but it was controlled now, he could feel it being held back by something greater. "We were all being manipulated by Sidious, myself included, and the Jedi Council…"

"And me too," interrupted Padme, not rudely, but calmly and comfortingly. "Me before anyone else, when I stepped into the Galactic Senate for the first time."

"I know. I saw everything. Palpa…Sidious has been behind ever dark events that have transpired ever since we met. The Trade Federation, the Separatist War." Anakin paused for a second.

"Me." He stepped back from Padme and looked at both her and Obi-Wan. "Still, I chose to do what I did. I committed…horrible crimes."

"Padawan, do not dwell on the past. You know we will forgive you, no matter what you have done. Come back to the light, Anakin. Rid yourself of this darkness that corrodes your soul every second it continues to thrive within you."

"No, Master, I can't." Anakin ignored the looks of disappointment and shock and continued. "I can not be a Jedi. I know the darkness inside me, and it has and will always be there." He now looked at Obi-Wan with pleading, penetrating eyes. "But believe my words, Master, I will never be a Sith. I will not turn to the dark side…again."

Anakin responded to his audience's silent confusion. "Obi-Wan, I saw…no, felt, someone from our past."

"Qui-Gon. How?"

"I do not know. He is as much a part of the Force as the Force is a part of us. He spoke to me. He told me there is more than just light and dark."

"That's, that's…" Years of training and learning did not give Obi-Wan a suitable response to that statement. "Well, what else is there then? Anakin, what did you see when you…"

"Became one with the Force. At least that's what I think happened. I saw everything Master, I felt everything, I was everywhere. I saw things that has been and will be." He shifted his gaze to his startled wife. "Oh Padme, if only I could explain to you, show you, the truly wondrous things in this Galaxy. And yet you stand out, Angel. You are the one jewel in this world that stands out from all the other rocks."

"Ani…" Padme could not tell if her husband was a sage or a lunatic. All she had to go by was the fierce intensity in his eyes and the passionate smile he was giving her. He put a finger over her mouth in order to calm her and give her the answer.

"Padme, you are my reality. You are all that matters to me in this world. And what a fool I've been." Tears trickled down his eye and Anakin could no longer look his wife in the face. "I've been trying to save you from myself, from what I had become."

"Ani, I trust you Ani. I know you would never hurt me." She placed both of her hands softly on his cheeks, wiping away his tears. "You were trying to help me, misguided as you were, and Palpatine took advantage of you."

"But I did hurt you. I can still feel it now, and if there's anything I can do…" Anakin trailed off, trying to hide his shame from his wife.

"Oh Ani, all that matters is that you're here now, that you're back. I forgive you, Obi-Wan forgives you. As long as you see the light again."

An excited smile crept back onto Anakin's face. "Oh Padme, I've seen that light. It's so beautiful, so colorful, I wish I could bring you to where I was."

Silence reigned for a brief moment on the fiery planet of Mustafar. Obi-Wan did not want to intrude on the couple's moment, but he couldn't ignore the problem at hand. "So what now, Anakin? You say you won't be a Jedi or a Sith. What will you be then? What are we going to do about the Jedi? God forbid, if Yoda failed, what are we going to do about the Sith."

"Yoda failed, Master. He understands now too. He was fighting a battle he couldn't win, against an enemy that has been preparing against us…the Jedi for the last one thousand years." Anakin looked back at Obi-Wan. "No Jedi can defeat Sidious. I've seen it. I've seen what happens if I return to the Order…or what's left of it." Anakin's gaze turned to the ground as he finished his sentence, both out of shame of what he had said and fear of what he was about to say. "Darkness will win. And Padme, you will die, and our children's fates will be in the hands of Sidious."

"Children? What do you mean children?"

"Padme, you are carrying twins. A boy and a girl."

Excitement returned to Mustafar. This was news to Obi-Wan, but then he had already known it somehow. Padme's eyes, however, shone found joy for the first time in awhile. "Twins, Ani? Are you sure? I didn't know. I don't know what to say."

"Say that they'll be safe, Padme. That we'll be safe." Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan. "You too, Master. You are a brother to me, you are my family too." Anakin withdrew from Padme's arms and hugged his only friend in the world. "I'm sorry, for everything. I mean it."

"I know you do. Let's not worry about that now though."

"No, let's not." Anakin stepped towards the Nubian ship and beckoned the four most important people in his world towards it. "We have a stormy future to worry about. It was cloudy, and I couldn't see through it all. But I have an idea of what I must do. And if I do it right, Padme, I know we'll be alright. We'll be back on Naboo again, and we'll be happy. All of us."

"If you say so, then I believe you with all my heart." Padme followed her husband onto her vessel, with Obi-Wan and two very confused droids trailing behind them.


	2. Prologue Part II

Prologue-Part II

They rendezvoused on an alien medical facility in a nearby asteroid belt. The last of the Jedi as well as one who was something else entirely. Who had stepped in the warm sanctuary of the Jedi and walked the dark hallways of the Sith. But now, the Chosen One had left the building entirely.

"Disturbing, your vision is." The last few months had taken its toll on the aged Whill, but Yoda still possessed the utmost serenity in his contemplation. "A dark time we have fallen into when our Code can not help us."

"The Code was the problem all along. It restricted us and blinded us to the adaptations of the Sith."

"Shades of Qui-Gon you have in you, young Skywalker. But right you may be."

Anakin gave a reluctant glance at Obi-Wan and continued. "Master Yoda, I believe I came into contact with Qui-Gon during my vision. He, somehow, I don't know exactly, but he guided me, talked to me." Anakin had his doubts about delving in an issue so sensitive to Obi-Wan.

"Know that I do. Been his Padawan for three years, I have." Yoda did not seem to be affected by the shocked glances he received, especially from Obi-Wan, who seemed to be nearing a breaking point from all the emotions he had been containing. His entire life had been ripped away from him and dissected in these last few months. His Padawan, who he had devoted so much of his life to, had turned to the Dark Side as a result of his failures. It had been a true miracle of the Force that he was back, but the fact that Anakin refused to accept his role as a Jedi hurt his Master even more. And now, his old Master, which he had failed and had died in his arms, was still alive? This was too much. Obi-Wan had so much he wanted to say, but he couldn't open his mouth.

Fortunately Anakin voiced one of his many questions. "How? I thought one loses their identity after death. And why have you not told us of this sooner? It could've helped our situation, maybe prevented….", he stopped for a second, and looked to the ground, "my identity crisis."

"Reveal him to us the Force will in time, as it has to Skywalker and me."

"And why not me?" For all his serenity and composure, his Master and his Padawan were Obi-Wan Kenobi's only weaknesses. Now, there was only anger, doubt, and guilt. "**I** was his Padawan. **I** knew him better than anyone else here in this room! We had a bond, don't you see?" Tears began to form on Obi-Wan's face, and he barely whispered his next words. "I failed him, and betrayed that bond. I failed him against the Sith Apprentice, and I failed his Chosen One with the Sith Master."

"Master, you didn't fail me." Anakin's words fell on deaf ears. "Master, the Jedi Council failed me. You were always on my side, you gave me your honesty when no one other than Padme would. The Council sent you to Utapau without me, and you had no choice in the matter. The Council refused to make me a Master, the Council asked me to spy on…on who I thought, was a friend. And I made my own decisions, Master, misguided as they were. Though I did not see this before, I do now. Darth Vader was not your creation."

_Breath, Obi-Wan, breath. Release those dark emotions, let the Force flow within you._ With a clearer head, he addressed his former student. "And is it because of your grudge towards the Council that you refuse to return to the Order."

Anakin put his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and spoke calmly. "No, Obi-Wan. No. Just as I have been forgiven, I forgive the Council of its decisions. But I cannot return to the Jedi because one restrained by the strictness of the Jedi cannot destroy Sidious. I cannot take that path, for I have foreseen where it would lead." _And who I would lose. _Anakin shuddered as his replayed themselves in his head, of his dear Padme, and Imperial Troopers, and blasters firing, and his children dueling each other to the death for privilege of sitting on the right side of the Emperor Palpatine. His children.

Anakin sighed with relief as he recalled how they had reached this medical facility just in time. Those horrendous moments when he saw his wife in unspeakable pain, when he waited for his nightmares to become real. But Padme lived. And so did Luke and Leia. And instantly Anakin felt a bond so strong with each of them, it could only be compared to the ones he shared with his former master and his wife. And his mother. _Oh mother, if only you could see them_. But then, he knew she could.

Senators Padme Naberrie Amidala of Naboo and Bail Organa of Alderaan observed the Jedi's deep conversation, wondering whether it was wise to disturb them. Finally, Padme stepped into the room and pulled up a chair beside her husband. Organa found a seat between Obi-Wan and Yoda.

The Senator in Padme was back, the practical one, the one who felt the burden of billions of people on her shoulder. She spoke first. "I don't want to interrupt here…"

"Angel, you could never interrupt."

"But I see you can," Padme retorted to her husband with a sly grin on her face. "As much as I love to hide here, and take care of my babies" _my precious babies _"there is still the matter of the Empire and Palpatine at hand. We must confront them somehow."

"The children of Skywalker the Sith will seek. Strong in the Force they are."

"That may be true," replied Anakin, "but at this point I am certain that the Emperor only knows of one child. I can still feel him sometimes."

"Still, we must hide both of them," reasoned the Senator from Alderaan. "Suspicion will follow them wherever they go."

"Maybe it won't have to be 'they'". Obi-Wan spoke up for the first time. "If Palpatine only believes that there is one child, then we should give him no reason to suspect otherwise." He looked over at Anakin and Padme. "I know it'll be a painful road, but it could be the only way to save them from the Empire and the Dark Side."

Padme pondered this for a bit. "You may be right, old friend. But who will take care of the twins? Certainly the Empire will be tracking me and Ani down to the ends of the Galaxy."

"I can take the girl back to Alderaan. My wife has always wanted a daughter, as have I. Since the end of the Republic I have stood solidly behind the new Emperor and I feel that I have above any suspicions."

"Agree with you, I do, Senator Organa. Free of the aura of the Dark Side, you are. Free of inquiries, you are too."

Bail nodded looked at the couple. "Of course, my Lady, you will is final in this matter."

"Bail, I have known you for years, and I trust you wholeheartedly."

"And me too." Anakin put his arm around his wife. "At least, for a politician."

Padme looked back at Anakin. _Are we making the right choice here? Will Leia be safe?_ His eyes answered her question. "It will be painful to be away from her…but…Ani and I are confident that is this the best choice we can make for her."

Obi-Wan: "What of Luke? Can Yoda take care of him and train him?"

"A dangerous place Dagobah is, especially for one so young." Yoda referred to the distant planet he would temporarily exile himself to. "Old and weak I have become, and not a good parent I fear I would make."

Anakin lost himself in thought for a bit. "Obi-Wan, I trust you. And I'm asking you a favor." Obi-Wan nodded curiously. "I want you to take the baby to Tatooine, to my brother-in-law Owen. I've got a plan circling around in my head right now. It's risky, but it just might work."

Anakin stood up. The hardest part was yet to come. He had always sworn to protect his wife from danger, but then, the road ahead was going to be treacherous no matter what path they chose. "As for myself, I must learn the ways of the Dark Side in order to defeat it."

Obi-Wan listened to that sentence in horror. He could not bear to lose his Padawan again. "You're going to go back to Sidious?"

"No. Absolutely not. Don't worry Master, I'm not dumb enough to let history repeat itself. Not anymore, at least. Besides, he knows that Darth Vader no longer exists. No, what I must do is travel to Korriban."

That one word seemed even more dreadful to Obi-Wan, who looked to Yoda for help.

"A dark planet that is, filled with the corruption of the Dark Side."

"I know. Peril awaits us at every step, but I…we can't afford to be cautious. Besides, Palpatine knows my rejection of the Dark Side, and the place he'll least expect me to be is at the center of that evil."

"But Padawan, you put your soul at risk. That Sith planet can corrupt even the wisest of all Jedi Masters."

"That is why I'm going to need a favor from my dear wife." Anakin looked to Padme and dropped to one knee. "Angel, you know I would give my life, my soul, to protect you from harm."

"I know that." But she could not hide the fear from her face, not fear for herself, but fear for the soul of her husband. She reached out for his hand and gripped it tightly.

"I need you now, more than ever. I need you to protect my soul. You have always been my light, my balance. You, more than anyone else, know my strengths, my weaknesses." Anakin paused for a second. Could he really do this? Expose her to a place so dark, so evil, so against her nature? Yet, it is the only way. "Padme, I need you to be my Angel in the darkness. Only you can save me from succumbing to the evils of the dark planet. My soul is yours, as it has always been, ever since our time in Naboo, our first kiss, our certain deaths on Genoiesis. Ever since the first time I saw you descend from the moons of Iego into a humble junk shop and into my life."

Their eyes were fixed upon each other's and Padme locked her husband's head to her chest in a furious embrace. She had let him slip away from her once. She would not let him go again. Never. No matter where she had to go, what she had to do. "Ani, you know I'll follow you to the ends of the Galaxy."

"I love you…"

"Truly, deeply."

"Always, forever."

They kissed.

_Forever's a long time, my love._

_Not long enough for us, nothing will ever be._

For some strange reason, Obi-Wan Kenobi did not have a bad feeling about this situation. _Well, it's back to the desert then, where this all began._


	3. C1 Evasive Measures

Episode IV

Shroud of the Shadow

A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away… 

Chapter 1-Evasive Measures

Tatooine. Unlike most planets, it does not resemble a jewel when observed from the outer reaches of space. There is no deception, for it looks like what it is: a barren piece of rock hardly worthy of the attention of the Grand Imperial Fleet. And yet two Star Destroyers flanked the Super Destroyer _Executor _hovering above the desert planet. Two officers on the main ship nervously approached Admiral Tarkin, a man as gaunt as he is cruel.

"Captain Amarno and Captain Sueter reporting, sir."

Tarkin did not turn his back to look at the Captains. "Your orders are the unchanged. Find the Jedi and the baby. Kill the Jedi. Bring the baby back alive if you can, but if not, kill him too." Finally the Admiral turned around to glare at the two officers with his icy eyes. "I do not need stress that these orders come straight from the Emperor, and are of the highest priority. Kill every living thing on this rock if you have to."

"Yes Sir."

"Dismissed."

* * *

Owen Lars still bore some resentment from the two strangers who invaded his life for the past year. They were trouble. The infant, Luke was his name, was adorable, and his newlywed wife Beru had really taken to the boy. The Jedi had been quiet the entire time, helping wholeheartedly with the farm work. Not that it's going to matter anyway. Trouble was going to follow them, and it was going to destroy this farm, this precious piece of land that had been the Lars' for so many generations. He didn't like his dad's reluctant agreement to the Jedi's plans, but he had no say in the matter. Owen guessed the only reason Cliegg had agreed was because of Shmi. He would have done anything for his late wife, and now supposedly helping her son.

Owen had met Anakin once. He had come back for his mother. He had been too late. At least she had a proper burial. At least she died in peace. Owen knew that. He missed the woman who had been as close to a mother as he had ever known. She was so calm, so loving. He could've easily imagined her to be his real mother. How she gave birth to such a…a _turbulent _son was anyone's guess, but not Owen's. He was a good man though, Owen could not deny that. A passionate, intense one, but for all the right reasons, whether it was for the Jedi cause, for Shmi, and that girl who was with him four years ago. He never actually asked the Jedi, but Owen easily guessed that she was the boy's mother. She was a beautiful woman, but completely different from his Beru. He would take Beru over that Princess, was that what she was, any day of the week. Beru was beautiful too, but she was simple. She was content, would always be content, even with a farmer like himself. The Princess, well, Owen couldn't fathom what kind of attention and gifts would be good enough for a girl like that, one who had such looks and royalty. He didn't care, either. It was just too beyond him, as were these strangers.

Owen looked up from his work and gazed at the surrounding landscape. No, a Princess would never survive in a place like this. Only people of a certain quality could, people like his family, his Beru. The binary suns filtered out only the toughest of the Galaxy for this planet.

What was that, though? Owen looked up again, but this time he examined the sky. A few bright specks, their glare from the two suns by themselves were enough to cause him to shield his eyes. _They're coming. They're finally here. _Owen ran back to the house to tell the Jedi.

* * *

Gola Amarno had taken the Skywalker father's half of the planet, the half that included Mos Espa. Thus, it fell upon Captain Yakov Sueter and his squadron of troopers, a mix of clones leftover from the last war and new graduates from the Imperial Academy, to scour the half of the planet where the man's family had reputedly lived. He had set up a temporary base at a dirty cantina in Mos Eisley, to the chagrin of the owner. No matter though, they were all outlaws here, Sueter told himself. The scum of the galaxy. They were lucky that Sueter and his squadron didn't arrest and execute them all right now. Captain Sueter led about twenty troopers on speeder bikes as they sped through the desert towards the vague directions they had got regarding the Lars family.

"Captain, we've got a lone speeder on radar slightly south of us. It could be nothing."

"We can't risk it. Let's check it out. Alpha team change your coordinates."

Minutes later they intercepted the bike. A man wearing what looked like Jedi Robes occupied the seat. He was driving with only one hand as he seemed to be cradling an object wrapped in a blanket in the other. _Fits the descriptions perfectly._

"Looks like it's them. All units prepare fire to disable. Remember, we want the baby alive if possible."

* * *

"Looks like we've got company, Luke. Hold on tight." Jedi Knight Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, formerly General Kenobi of the Clones Wars, now the only active Jedi he knew of, chucked slightly to himself. "Oops. Forgot I was the one doing the holding, little one." Even with only one arm the Jedi still managed to evade the blaster fire with barely any effort as he led the chase through the Dune Sea into the mountains.

* * *

The pursuit was getting more treacherous by the second. Captain Sueter had already lost four troopers whose bike had crashed into the steep mountainside. Now the deranged Jedi was heading towards canyon, a narrow one at that. Sueter quietly whispered to himself "I've got a bad feeling about this" before turning on his comlink. "Alright Alpha, prepare entry into Tusken Canyon. Stay triple file, it's a narrow one." As he was speaking a speeder crashed into the canyon. _A really bad feeling.

* * *

_

Obi-Wan expertly navigated the bike through the twists and turns of the canyon until he spotted a side canyon further ahead, one that merged with the main trench at a 90 degree angle. He swerved his speeder to make the sharp turn.

* * *

"Target is turning into side canyon, sir."

"Continue pursuit, but careful though. I'm not even sure he's gonna make this one." As he said that, Sueter saw the Jedi speeder crash into the canyon wall. The explosion was immediate and deafening, and it looked the bike had been vaporized, along with its passengers. Smoke immediately clouded the surrounding area. "Looks like our mission's accomplished. Start scanning the area for bodies, but I doubt we're gonna find anything."

* * *

Obi-Wan was slightly shaken up from the rough landing, but he quickly pulled his thoughts back together. The bag of fruit he had be hiding under the blankets had been vaporized, either from the impact of the speeder crash or from the detonator he activated and set down in the personal compartment of the bike moments before jumping off. The detonator was a Mon Calamarian model, one that specifically emitted a large amount of smoke, which prevented the Imperial Troopers from seeing the Jedi land expertly on a small outcrop in the canyon wall leading into a cave. It would be a reasonable enough sanctuary until the troopers leave the scene satisfied.

Obi-Wan stepped into the dark cave. Something didn't feel right. He felt another living presence in the cave. _Hopefully not carnivorous._ Although most creatures on this planet seemed to be. Well, he couldn't exactly leave the cave and risk being seen by the Imperials, could he? He took a glance at the now faraway entrance. _Odd, this presence seems familiar. Awfully familiar. And extremely close by too. _Obi-Wan immediately activated his lightsaber and turned around.

"Qui-Gon!"

"Padawan Kenobi." His old master looked exactly the same as he did during the Trade Federation dispute. Except he was transparent. And Glowing.

"Well, I've heard rumors about your doings and going ons and so forth, but honestly, I never expected you to actually be kind enough to pay me a visit."

"This isn't the enthusiastic greeting I was expecting. I sense a subtle trace of bitterness in your tone, Obi-Wan."

"Oh, so you have a problem with me if I'm a little bitter. But my Padawan, he goes crazy like a Gundark, destroys the entire Jedi Order, and you merely punish him by making him some sort of a prophet."

"Anakin needed the help and guidance, Obi-Wan. You don't. I had to do something. You've always been the rational one, Padawan. I never had any doubts you would follow the right path. Skywalker though…" Qui-Gon sighed. "He has abilities to see through the Force that rival Yoda and Darth Sidious, but he just doesn't seem to know what to do with them. He is the Chosen One, and he is powerful, but he's not exactly the brightest lightsaber in the temple."

"Oh, master, you're right about that. Sometimes I don't think he can understand the Force until it smacks him in the face."

"Which is what I did, in a way. He needed to see the whole picture, Obi-Wan. Show him bit and pieces, and he'll overreact. That's how Sidious got to him."

Obi-Wan chuckled a bit, and scratched his head. It was good to have Qui-Gon back, and he stepped forward to embrace his master with a hug when he realized that his conceived action would be quite impossible. "Well, this is kind of awkward."

"What is?"

"Us. I don't know master, I don't know what to say to a ghost. So how's it been the past few years? You obviously don't need to ask me that as you probably already know everything that's happened. I assume that's what ghosts like you do anyway, peeking on us and all."

"Then let's discuss the important matters then. What's troubling you, Obi-Wan?"

"Well…Anakin. On the dark planet. I'm not sure if he's ready for that place."

"You don't think he's ready or you don't feel he is?" Obi-Wan didn't have an answer. "Don't forget the Living Force, Padawan. And don't estimate Padme. She was the reason he turned to the Dark Side, so why can't she be the one to prevent him from doing so again?"

"I guess you make sense. As Always. Still, what's he even doing on Korriban anyway? Will he really find something there that will help him against Sidious? I mean, he IS the Chosen One, and the most powerful Jedi I have ever known. Can't he just fight him, best him in combat?"

"Violence breeds violence, Obi-Wan. Sure, Anakin can just fight Sidious, and he'll probably win. But the consequences of winning are dangerous. I'm afraid not even Padme can save him from the Dark Side if he unleashes his fury at Palpatine."

"With all due respect, Master, how else would he defeat him? Doesn't he have to face him at some point?"

"Give your Padawan some credit, Obi-Wan. Anakin is not just a creature of violence and anger. He has compassion, he loves without regard for consequences. He will find the light in the darkness."

"Oh, your riddles again. What could you possibly mean?" To Obi-Wan chagrin, the ghost in front of him began to fade away.

"You're a great Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am proud of you."

"But…don't leave yet…I still have…"

"Trust in the Force, Obi. It will reveal itself in time." And with that, Qui-Gon Jinn faded into the darkness of the cave.


	4. C2 Under the Cloak

Thank you for all your reviews, I truly appreciate them. Please continue to feel free to review, advise, and criticize.

Chapter 2-Under the Cloak

Though he often found confusion in the complexities of human behavior and emotions, C-3PO had never had trouble with the facts. The facts were real, they were tangible, they were never wrong. And yet, for C-3PO, the facts this time simply did not make sense. He had been on this planet Korriban for about a year now, and had not seen the sun once. There was a sun. That was a fact. He'd seen it as they were flying onto the planet; in fact it was the only way he had been able to see the planet. Korriban was a dark mass in space, one could not tell its existence unless it was juxtaposed against the brightness of its sun. The facts didn't make sense then, either. How could light from the sun not reflect off the planet? As they approached Korriban, it stood out as a black hole against the background of its massive sun.

The only source of light on the planet, besides their ship itself, came from the eerie thunder and lightning that constantly reigned the dark sky. They did not come from clouds, for there were none. They just seem to appear and disappear into the dark night with no end. There were no lifeforms on the planet either, besides his master and his maker. The planet was barren, simply a ghoulish rocky surface devoid of any vegetation.

C-3PO had asked his maker once why they never saw the sun. The facts stated that a day on the planet was around 21 standard hours. His maker simply replied something confusing about the dark side clouding everything. Clouding? C-3PO wanted to point out that there were no clouds on Korriban, but it seemed pointless. He sincerely wished that R2-D2 was here; as annoying as he was, he did always seem to have the answers.

* * *

Their ship was parked in a large depression on the surface of the planet, in what used to be a medium-sized lake. Mountains surrounded the lake-bed at every angle; sharp, jagged peaks that stabbed the sky and bled more darkness into the air. Sharing the empty lake with their ship was an ancient, foreboding, Gothic building. Long-deserted, it used to house the Academy of the Sith Warriors before the great wars. Anakin did not bother to wander beyond the lake-bed; he had no urge to explore the planet.

He supposed the place used to be a beautiful world, maybe even like Naboo. Mountains, lakes, and rich forests once covered Korriban. But the Sith had corrupted the place, destroying the planet and eventually themselves. But what were the Sith? Weren't they originally an innocent species that were corrupted by the invaders, the Dark Jedi? The Jedi. Anakin shuddered. It was ironic, the Jedi's holding themselves up as the protectors of the galaxy, the highest form of life, warriors against the evil, when they themselves were the roots of that ultimate evil. Was it even right for a person to have such power? Anakin himself had it, and he thought about what he had done with it all his life. Killed. Murdered. As did all the Jedi. In the name of the Republic. In the name of the Empire. In the name of the Jedi Code. And how many of the murdered were Sith? Two. The rest were helpless beings, inferiors ones in combat who stood no chance against the Jedi because of the way they were born. Perhaps it was good that the Jedi's were gone.

_No, what am I thinking? _Thoughts like those were common these days, seeping into Anakin's brain as stealthily as the night. Sometimes he could not tell whether those dark musings were the result of the planet or his own twisted heart. Those thoughts certainly were pointless and did nothing to help him achieve his ultimate goal.

And just how was he going to defeat Palpatine? He had been here for a year now, and had not come any closer to a definite conclusion. He had studied the history and lore of the Sith, and learned of ways to manipulate the Force using the Dark Side, ways that made him feel utterly disgusted with himself for even considering them. More than anything else, he felt the Dark Side every moment he was here. Here, the Force was no fairy tale or nightmare. It was so real, so tangible, that it somehow wrapped the entire planet up in a black cloak. He had not seen any sunlight for a year now, save for those occasional trips to nearby Chandrila for supplies and food. And for their sanity, too.

The past here was real, too. Anakin felt the countless spirits of the past still lingering in the darkness, long dead but still not willing to let go of their fear, anger, hatred, and jealousy. The past did not bother Anakin, though. Those old spirits were still there, but they stayed a safe distance from the Chosen One, almost as if they were afraid of him. Fear was thicker than blood on this planet.

Anakin wanted to leave this condemned planet. He wanted to rush back to Coruscant, face Palpatine, and get it all over with. He knew he could best Sidious in combat, especially with all these dark techniques he had learned. But Anakin had a bad feeling about that possibility. Though he had come to Korriban to study the Dark Side, something told him, screamed at him inside, reminding that he was not supposed to use the Dark Side. There was something here that eluded him, something that he was supposed to find. And until he found whatever that was, Anakin knew he was not meant to face his old master.

* * *

Darth Sidious did not always hate the Jedi. He was destined to be a Sith even before he was born. His master _father_ Darth Plagueis had always taught him about the evils of the Jedi. The knowledge that his purpose in life was to destroy the Jedi was intrinsic in him. Yet, Palpatine had grown up in the Outer Rim planet of Naboo, a peaceful haven that rarely required the presence of the Knights of the Republic. Until he met his first Jedi, Darth Sidious always felt that they were misguided beings who had been taught in the ways of wrong side of the force since infancy. They had great potential in the Dark Side in the Force; they just merely refused to use it. Once converted, they would serve the will of the Sith and become powerful weapons for darkness.

It was when he needed an apprentice that Palpatine encountered his first Jedi, a Padawan he had kidnapped during a diplomatic trip to Corellia. He had been so eager to convert the young Jedi and teach him the wonders of the Dark Side. Palpatine had no son, no family, and he knew that he never would. Thus, he had always imagined that his apprentice would be like a son to him, as he was to his master. Hope turned into frustration, and then hatred, when the Padawan refused to accept his teachings. When Palpatine finally killed him, he felt like he had lost a son. And so it was with the next Padawan he stole, and eventually killed. And the next one. And the one after that. Thus, Darth Sidious began to hate the Jedi for their stubborn ways, their refusal to see the true power of the Force, their steadfast adherence to their beliefs and their Code, their refusal to bend to his will, his knowledge, and his power. It was then that Palpatine finally hardened his resolve to destroy the Jedi Order once and for all.

Palpatine also learned to respect the Jedi Code. He begrudgingly admitted that it ingrained in its followers a belief as strong and fanatical as his own. He realized that without knowledge of their ways, he could never destroy the Jedi. One aspect about the Order he noticed especially was how the Jedi took all their disciples as infants and trained them from the first moments of consciousness. So Palpatine had his answer. He would wait. He would seek. And one day, on a diplomatic visit to a distant planet, he felt a disturbance, an infant Zabrak powerful in the ways of the Force.

But he could not afford to be patient these days. He had gained so much, and he had so much to lose. He had lost his apprentice, a betrayal that stung far worse than any naïve Padawan had. But he would destroy Skywalker. He knew what made the boy tick. He would find him, wherever he was hiding, and Darth Sidious would get his revenge. But he needed an apprentice. Palpatine has the utmost faith in himself and his plans, but he also knew of the necessity of contingencies. So he was prepared if Vader ever betrayed him.

Darth Sidious descended into the depths of the Imperial Palace. Unknown to Vader, not all of the Jedi Padawans from the temple had been killed. Some had hid, some had been injured, left for dead. Sidious had taken them, recuperated them, and imprisoned them. Now, all his actions paid off. He had many potential apprentices to choose from, but he already knew the perfect Sith Lord that would get him his revenge against Vader.


	5. C3 Ghost Stories

Chapter 3-Ghost Stories

"Ani, are you hungry tonight?"

"Not really, angel. I'm thinking of skipping my meal."

Padme walked into the living quarters of the ship that they had called home for the past year, a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she approached her husband and put her arm softly on his shoulder. "Ani, let's have a feast. Let's engorge ourselves, let ourselves go, give in to our stomach's desires."

Anakin turned around to face his wife with a confused look on his face. "Padme, if you're that hungry, then just say so. Don't be ashamed of it."

"Well, I'm not really hungry at all," confessed Padme sheepishly.

"So why all this talk about a feast?"

"Well…" Padme broke away from her husband and started pacing around the room. "Ani, the sooner we get rid of the food, the sooner we can go to Chandrila! God, I don't think we've left this damned planet in months now."

Anakin wanted to comfort his wife. He couldn't bear to see her in despair like this, because of him. "Padme, if you want to go to Chandrila, then just say so."

"No! We can't go to Chandrila. Going there too much will endanger us, and it'll endanger Senator Mothma and the rebellion and God knows what else. So we'll stay here. We're stuck here until you're done with whatever you're doing!" She shot an accusing look at her husband.

"Look, I don't want to stay here either. I want more than anything else to get this Chosen One business over with, defeat the Sith, see _our children_ again! But I can't, I just know I can't! Not until I find what I'm supposed to find."

"And what exactly are you looking for?"

"I don't know."

"So how are you supposed find something when you don't even know what it is? Aaarh! We're stuck here, forever, just because of some…some vague notion you have."

"It's not a vague notion, Naberrie! It's what the Force is telling me!" His words fell on deaf ears as he rushed to catch up with Padme, who was by then already storming out of the room.

Padme found a chair in the kitchen, sat down, and broke down in tears. Her husband stood helplessly in the doorway. He didn't know how make her feel better, especially since was his fault his wife was in this situation in the first place. He immediately regretted yelling those last words at her. She didn't deserve it.

"Ani, what's happening to us? Why are we arguing like this? Why are we fighting? Why am I so, so selfish?"

"Angel, you're not selfish. It's, it's just this damn planet. The Dark Side is strong here. It distorts the strongest of us." Anakin pulled up a chair next to his wife and reached for her hand in her lap.

"Damn the Dark Side! Damn the Force! They can all go to Hell for all care! Ani, I wish the Jedi never agreed to train you!"

"Padme, how could you say that? I know more than anyone that the Jedi aren't perfect, but without them I'd be…"

"Without them we'd be normal, Ani. I'd have kept you on Naboo, and we would've had ten more years to spend with each other. We could've rescued your mother earlier, and we'd all be happy. Ani, we would've been a normal family."

Anakin held his wife tightly and meditated on his wife's words. He admitted to himself that he would've preferred to stay on Naboo, to grow up with Padme, to enjoy the normal life that had evaded them for so long. No, he had to get rid of those fantasies. They just weren't meant to be. "Padme, I would give the world for an extra minute with you, but we can't change the past, we can't change our destinies. Even if the Jedi hadn't trained me, Sidious still exists. And he still would've come after me."

"I know, I know. You're right, I guess."

"I'm sorry I had to bring you here, angel. This is a bad place."

"Anakin, do you believe in ghosts."

"I'm not sure."

"Me either. Not anymore." She let her husband gently wipe her tears away, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Did I ever tell you the story of King Oeden the Mad?"

"I don't think so."

"He was the King of Naboo, back before the Republic. When he was still the Prince, he got into an argument with his father, the King. He was banished from Theed, but he came back, with an army, and overtook the city." Padme paused for a second, not wanting to finish her story. "He walked into the Royal Palace and killed his mother and father, to take the throne."

"That's a sad story, Padme. Whatever made you think of it?"

"King Oeden went mad shortly afterwards. He was ridden with guilt until he couldn't take it anymore. One night he ran down one of the palace's hallways and threw himself out the window. They say his ghost still roams that hallway sometimes. They say his eyes, are, are so sad, that if you look into them you would cry for weeks. I didn't believe in ghosts when I was young, but sometimes I would wander that hallway late at night, and I would shiver, and tears would come out of my eyes. I never saw anything, but I felt the pain, the sadness, in the air. It was overwhelming. And it's exactly like that here, except it's so much more…intense, and thick."

"I can't tell you that what you feel isn't real, because it is. The past, in this place, it doesn't want to let go. But Padme, the past can't hurt you here, unless you let it get to you. You've fought in battles before, Padme, where your enemies could've easily hurt you, or killed you. But you survived, because you're strong. Just be yourself, and you'll be fine." Anakin searched Padme's feelings, and his words seemed to have a positive effect on her. He felt like a hypocrite, though, for he harbored more fear in his heart beyond what his wife could even possibly dream of.

* * *

Tep Grello was the one Palpatine was eyeing. He had been the Padawan of Mace Windu. He had defended the Temple valiantly from the onslaught of clone troopers, had engaged in combat with Vader. Grello was one of the lucky, or rather unlucky, ones that survived the encounter. Skywalker's lightsaber had gone through his left arm, and he fell onto the floor, watching his would-be killer run into the younglings' room, lightsaber still flaming. He'd vowed revenge on the betrayal.

Palpatine had taken him, along with thirty other Padawans who survived. He nursed them back to health, he tortured them, and he'd nurtured their Dark Side. This was different from when he'd first tried to convert Jedi Padawans. These kids had suffered much, were recovering from trauma, and now were waking up to the real nightmare. Darth Sidious's first attempts at conversion more than thirty years ago had been met with a courageous and stoic serenity. This was a much different case. Darth Vader had already planted the seeds of anger in these Jedi, and Sidious only need to water them. Tep Grello especially.

The young Jedi, stared at Palpatine defiantly, hate in his eyes. Much to the Sith Lord's satisfaction. "You hate me, don't you?"

"No." Grello wasn't too convincing.

"Don't deny it. Hate is natural. Hate is human. Feel your hate, acknowledge its existence, let it help you. You have a long journey ahead you, Grello."

"What do you know about my journeys? I doubt you'll even let me out of here, Sith scum." Grello spit out the last two words with animosity.

"I may be a Sith, Jedi, but I am also an Emperor. I have tremendous resources. My will is the law. You will find me a useful ally, Grello. Perhaps I may be able to help you."

"You, help me? How could you possibly help me? You're the one who's responsible for all my troubles, Sith!"

Palpatine chuckled inside. _The boy took the bait._ "Am I, really? You'll find the two of us have common interests."

"What would that be?" Grello could not help being curious.

"We both want revenge. On the same person. I know him as Darth Vader. You know him as Anakin Skywalker."

"The scum of scum! The traitor." Strangely enough, Grello felt that he could relate with this Sith Lord. He seemed to understand.

"Ah, yes! That he is! He betrayed your Jedi Order, and he betrayed me, too. Now he claims to be neither a Jedi nor a Sith." Darth Sidious's burning irises buried themselves into Tep Grello's eyes. "He's an enemy to BOTH!"

Grello had a bad feeling about where the conversation was headed. He knew the Sith was using him, taking advantage of his dark desires. He had to resist. "Who are you to help me, you're the one who sent him to kill us!"

"Did I? The Jedi were in rebellion against the Republic, that much was true. Empire or Republic though, we are a galaxy of LAWS! I sent my apprentice to arrest the heads of the insurgency. The Jedi were to receive a fair trial, as according to the law. What inner angers drove Vader to commit such a…slaughter…I'll never know." Though Palpatine spoke the last sentence with a tone resembling sincere regret, Grello still had his doubts.

"You lie. You're a Sith. You won't give any Jedi a fair trial. It's all a sh…"

"And what of your Master? Are you going to let the memory of his death, his murder, die in vain?"

"My Master?"

"Master Jedi Mace Windu, specifically. He was an enemy of mine, that much is true. But I respected him. He was a man of reason, of law. He came to arrest me and give me the benefit of what he felt would be a fair trial. Such a different, such a better man, than his assassin." With no warning, Darth Sidious sent the unfortunate Padawan intense images of the final fight between Mace Windu and himself, the encounter at the window, the force lightning, Skywalker running into the room, and slashing his lightsaber at the Jedi Master. Grello saw his Master's arm and lightsaber fall into the pits of Coruscant, and then Mace himself.

"Lies." The word came out as no more of a mumble.

"Search you're feelings! You know it to be true."

And so Tep Grello searched his feelings. He knew he had seen the truth, but there seemed to be something missing. The darkness clouded his feelings though, and he ignored the last piece of the puzzle. "Anakin Skywalker, I will have my revenge!"

"Join me then, Tepoven Grello! You cannot defeat a man as powerful as Skywalker with merely your Jedi abilities. In fact, I don't even think your Code allows for vengeance. Only with the Dark Side will you be powerful enough to fulfill your desires. Be my apprentice, and nothing can stop us!"

"I will join you then."

"Good. Approach me, Darth…Rache. We have a lot of learning to do." And so Darth Sidious found his final apprentice.

Tep Grello did not intend to commit to the Sith. He would use this Sidious to get his revenge on the Skywalker traitor, and then he would bide his time until he had an opportunity. And then he would kill this hideous monster, and rid the galaxy of the Sith.

Palpatine chuckled at the blatantly unshielded thoughts of his new apprentice. _And what of yourself, apprentice? Would you rid the galaxy of yourself? _Such thoughts from Darth Rache were healthy ones. All the Sith apprentices harbor feelings of hate and fear towards their Masters, and that favor was duly returned. Darth Sidious' master, Darth Plagueis, knew that fact well. That was why he took his own son to be his apprentice. His son would hate him, as a father and as a master, but he would respect him, for they were blood, and he would obey him like a good son should.

Palpatine played the good son for thirty years. Then, one day a speeder bike accident left him on, if not over, the verge of death. Darth Plagueis knew the secrets of life itself, and used his knowledge to bring his son back to life. Having learned the final lesson his master had to offer, Palpatine choked his unsuspecting father to death using the Force, fulfilling a promise he had hidden from the Sith Lord for twenty years.


	6. C4 Grunt Work

Chapter 4-Grunt Work

_Damn ghosts, they never give you a straight answer._

It took Obi-Wan until the early morning to reach his ship after half a day of climbing to the top of the canyon. He spent the last hours of the blistering sunlight walking across a vast desert plain. The sight of the mountains was a relief, as were the sunsets, and finally after hiking up and down several steep mountain ranges the Jedi reached the obscure valley where he had left his ship and entourage. _Damn the planet. I swear, I'd rather become Darth Obi than come back to this rock._ He had trouble understanding why that boy Owen loved Tatooine so much.

Cliegg Lars was up. He rarely seemed to sleep lately. "Enjoy the Tatooine hospitality today, Jedi?"

"Oh, quite. My hair's scorched from the explosion, my skin's about to peel off thanks to those two damn suns, my entire foot is a blister, and I talked with a ghost."

"A ghost?"

"Ah, never mind. What are you doing up still?"

"Just savoring the desert air for the last time in who knows how long," Cliegg signed contentedly. "Despite your feelings towards it I'm gonna miss this place."

"Look, I'm really sorry I'm dragging you all along on this little crusade of mine. Trust me, I don't savor the idea of taking bystanders like you away from your home, but you won't be safe here. The Empire doesn't ignore details."

"Hey, don't trouble yourself. This is the least I can do for Shmi. And that dear boy, Beru really likes the kid you know."

"I can tell." _It's gonna break her heart when Anakin gets back._ Cliegg seemed to read his mind.

"She's gonna have to make sacrifices eventually. We all do. Kids are fighting and dying out there. We're lucky that all we need to do is to simply stay alive."

"I think you'll like Utapau. There's a lot of desert there too."

"Don't worry about us Lars, Kenobi. We'll be happy wherever we are."

* * *

The trip to Mustafar had been a waste of time. As Obi-Wan had told him, there was nothing left of the Separatist Command Center, at least nothing above the magma. Still, Bail Organa did not want to spare any details. Naboo had been a fruitless effort too. The transmissions sent by Darth Sidious to the Trade Federation fourteen years ago had been to the Droid Control Ship, the one destroyed by Anakin Skywalker.

The fact that holovid transmissions had been sent from Senator Palpatine's office to the Trade Federation during the blockade was extremely incriminating. More transmissions from the Supreme Chancellor's office to Genoisis, Serenno, Utapau, Kamino, and Mustafar certainly proved to be no coincidence, either. It was obvious to any impartial party that Palpatine played both sides, most likely controlled them, during the blockade crisis as well as the Clone Wars. Still, the Senate needed solid evidence. Records of the transmissions weren't enough; Bail Organa needed the holovids themselves. They would leave no room for doubt in the Senate's eyes. Organa's job was to convince the Senate that the Emperor didn't deserve their support. Actually deposing of the Emperor, of course, was Skywalker's job.

Bail had followed the advice Senator Amidala gave him the fateful day Palpatine shattered any remaining illusions of the Republic. He had voted for Palpatine. He had voted for the resettlement camps for non-human species in the Outer Rim. He had voted to repeal the rights of a fair trial for Rebellion Prisoners. He had voted to broaden the definitions of treason, to lessen the powers of the Senate, to increase taxes to unreasonable rates, and to plow all the excess revenue into the Imperial Military. All for the cover from Imperial suspicion, so that he could have free leave to gather the evidence he was scouring the galaxy for right now. Bail Organa asked forgiveness every night to no one in particular.

Some Senators did not share his patience or tolerance for tyranny. His close friend Senator Mon Mothma had resigned from her position. From her native planet of Chandrila she organized a fragile alliance against the Empire. Inspired by her courage, the planet had ceased relations with the Empire. Bail was surprised that the Imperial Navy hadn't paid Chandrila a visit yet. Bail set his hyperdrive coordinates for Genoisis. He couldn't afford to waste any more time.

* * *

"…and though we did not find the bodies we are certain, Your Highness, that neither one survived the crash."

The shadow on Admiral Tarkin's screen showed no emotion as he whispered in a voice as hoarse as death "You are certain of nothing, Admiral. The Jedi and the baby are both still alive and safe on Tatooine. You underestimate their abilities and overestimate your own."

Tarkin stood speechless, and yet he was certain his fate was already sealed. "Your Highness, I do not doubt your wisdom…"

"You will doubt nothing! I am not surprised that you have failed, Admiral Tarkin. I have foreseen it, and your failure is the will of the Empire. However, I expect you to succeed in your next mission. Block all routes in or out of Tatooine. They will try to escape. Let them, and track them. After you learn of their destination, report to me and then bring your fleet to Chandrila. Destroy the resistance there and wipe out the planet." The screen went blank.

Tarkin was a brilliant military strategist, but he could not see the point to the Emperor's orders. Either Palpatine was mad, or Tarkin himself was not intelligent enough, as the Emperor had insinuated. Perhaps the first theory was true, and certainly the latter was not. Tarkin took his mind off this matter and returned it to his recent failure. No, he told himself, not his failure.

"Captain Amarno."

"Yes sir," replied voice on the comlink.

"Arrest Captain Sueter immediately for treason."

"Yes sir."

The Emperor had shown him mercy, but Admiral Tarkin did believe in mercy.

* * *

Anakin sat serenely on a ledge near his ship. He was meditating, as he often did these days. There was not much else he could do. He had read what he felt all the relevant material in the Sith archives. He had gotten nowhere a voice told him inside. So he would meditate here in the dark and perhaps come up with an answer. Besides, Padme needed some time to herself right now.

The arguments were beginning to become more and more frequent. Anakin could tell the strain the dark planet was placing on Padme. It was more than just the darkness too. Padme must feel so helpless here. People around the galaxy were dying, her friends in the Senate were being persecuted, and she, Senator Amidala, the first to speak up over an injustice, the last line of defense for the oppressed, had been lounging around with her husband for the past year. Anakin wouldn't have characterized her work as lounging, but she wore her feelings on her sleeve and he felt her guilt of helplessness clearly. Anakin wanted to tell her how important her role was, accompanying him, but his own shame stopped his words. Besides, he knew that in her heart she knew the weight of her importance.

Anakin dwelled on his shame. Why did he need to be baby-sat? Why did he have so little discipline, so little control over his own emotions? Why was he so reckless to act on them? He felt like a child again, helpless to the events swirling around and within him. Helpless as he watched his mother die…no, such thoughts were dangerous. He held himself back from the ledge of the dark side. He would not let the fear rise to the surface. Anakin struggled to regain control and delved deeper into his meditated state.

It had been so long since he had seen the sun, felt its warmth caressing his skin. Padme too, and it must've been driving her crazy. _Tomorrow, we will go to Chandrila, regardless of necessity. _As he concentrated on his thoughts, a vision suddenly came to Anakin. He and Padme were on a ship. Their faces were expressionless, set in stone. They stared straight ahead. Suddenly, Anakin, watching the vision from a neutral vantage point, saw that the ship was headed straight into a sun, so bright and devouring. And yet, he and Padme stood frozen, ignorant of the sun, plodding straight ahead. And then they plunged into the giant yellow mass, and all he could feel was the cold, freezing them, numbing them.

Anakin snapped out of his meditation. It had been quite a disturbing vision, but all of a sudden, the vision appeared to be so distant in his mind. It seemed irrelevant, unrelated to the matter at hand…Sidious. He was already beginning to forget the details. No, he told himself, there was no meaning to what he saw, and Anakin slowly left the memory of the frozen sun gather dust in the inner recesses of his consciousness.

* * *

"Why, hello there Artoo." The droid beeped back at Obi-Wan. "Well, I guess I did do pretty well without your help back there. I'm quite surprised myself, you know."

A series of clicks and beeps rang back. "Yes, but I'm not surprised that they would want to hurt the baby. The Empire is a lot colder than the Republic."

Obi-Wan listened for another second to the droid. "Oh don't worry, it will be a short lived Empire if I have anything to say about it."

"A droid certainly seems to make for a good companion." Obi-Wan turned around to see Beru watching them with amusement, cradling Luke in her arms.

"Well, they're quite the amazing little robots. I swear they seem to be more human than, well, humans sometimes." Owen immediately came to mind.

"Yeah. I sometimes wondered if there was a person hiding behind C-3PO's casings. He was quite the character."

R2-D2 chirped something in agreement. "That he was. Although sometimes I get the feeling that this one here is smarter than the lot of us put together. If I wasn't so sure that droids aren't Force-sensitive, I wouldn't be surprised if Artoo were the Dark Lord himself, that has been manipulating us all this time."

Artoo beeped sharply in disagreement. Beru laughed, and even Luke seemed to giggle for a bit. "He's offended, I think."

"Or he's been caught, and he knows it. Are the others up yet?"

"Yes. They're having breakfast. I finished early."

"Well, I guess we should get ready to leave this planet then. I'm sure you'll return very quickly."

"I'm sure too."

The two of them along with the droid walked back to the ship. It was a new Mon Calamarian design, smooth, sleek, and skinny like a rocket missile, with no wings jutting out from the body of the vessel. It's name, the _Indiana Jones_ was Mon Calamarian, translating into "Lone Warrior." Obi-Wan knew it fit him well, he being the last of the Jedi. He missed having Anakin with him, accompanying him on his missions. They acted and fought like one, never even needing to speak as the Force allowed them to communicate silently. He envied his old Padawan too. Obi-Wan could not imagine what the planet of Korriban was like, but at least Anakin had Padme with him. It was a kind of companionship he would never know, sighed Obi-Wan to himself morosely.

* * *

The _Indiana Jones_ took off into the thin atmosphere of Tatooine. "Artoo, scan the area for Imperial Fleet." The astromech sat in the co-pilot's chair as none of the Lars had any flying experience. Obi-Wan hoped that the Empire had already left satisfied. They were doomed if they were detected.

R2-D2 finished his scan and sent the data to his Jedi master. "Ah, on the other side of the planet, I see. Not gonna be as easy as I had hoped, but we still may have a chance. Artoo, start setting hyperdrive coordinates to Utapau."

Suddenly the droid beeped with a loud urgency. "Damn, they spotted us. How many fighters are after us?" Beep. "Three? We better take care of them before they call for more help."

The one innovation that truly set the _Indiana Jones_ apart from other types of fighters was its ability to aim and shoot missiles in 360 degrees, giving Obi-Wan a chance to eliminate the pursuers behind him before they could successfully target him. He aimed a missile towards one of the Imperial fighters and fired. Artoo chirped eagerly, and Obi-Wan knew that it was on target. "Two more. Keep working on that hyperdrive and I'll take care of the rest."

What the _Indiana Jones _lacked in maneuverability due to its design it made up for with pure speed, and as Obi-Wan fired another missile he set rockets at full thrust. The missile was true. "One left, Artoo!" Now, perhaps he could outrun his attacker before he had a chance to fire upon him.

The ship shook for a second. "We're hit. Artoo, what's the damage?" The droid sent the data to his screen. "Hmmm, must've just scraped us or something."

Owen came running into the cockpit. "What's going on? I heard something."

"No big deal. We're being pursued by a few Imperials. One of them got a hit on us but must've either scraped us or been a dud. We hit two of them and we're quickly outrunning the last one." Artoo beeped again, this time in triumph. "And it looks like the hyperdrive is ready. Hold on tight." Owen strapped himself in a seat behind R2 as the ship entered hyperspace.

"Job well done, Artoo. You saved our hides again." _Too easily, perhaps._ Obi-Wan had a bad feeling about their recent encounter.

* * *

The last Imperial fighter watched as the _Indiana Jones _disappeared into the darkness of space. He radioed the _Executor_. "Mission accomplished. Tracking droid was successfully planted onto the Rebel ship."

The droid that had been fired from the fighter traveled as quickly as a proton torpedo would but slowed itself down considerably as it approached its target. After the soft collision the droid attached itself magnetically to the ship, leaving the surfaced relatively unscathed. It was programmed to send a transmission immediately after its host exited hyperspace, then detach itself and self-destruct.


	7. C5 Oeden's Fall

Again, thanks for all the reviews. I will try to respond to some of them, specifically the ones with questions, via email, so I would definitely welcome any questions you have about the story.

Chapter 5-Oeden's Fall

The Emperor Palpatine for a second peered over the edge of his pod in the Senate chamber. If there was one weakness to be found in the Dark Lord, it was a mild dislike of heights. As he looked down all he saw was a dark shadow even as the room was brightly lit for this emergency session of the Senate. Darth Sidious finally diverted his eyes away from below and gazed around the room with a detached contempt.

"Senators! I come before you today with great urgency. Our Galactic Empire has never been stronger and more secure." He paused a minute for the applause. _Fools, _he thought. _All fools. A mindless mob, just like the ones they serve._ Palpatine delighted at how he had led the Senate to applaud its own demise for so long.

"But today we face a danger that threatens the our very existence. Today, our mighty Empire is on the verge of collapse! Not from the outside, but from within." He let the fear and uncertainty sink into every heart in the room. It was ironic that he once felt this way towards these hollow fools. He recalled the day he learned of his acceptance as a Governor's Aide of Naboo. How old was he then? Barely into his mid-teens, perhaps. Palpatine's youth seemed to be lifetimes away, separated from his present consciousness by a thin shroud of darkness.

The Governor's name was Deju Gastija. He would not forget that name. His first politician. He was handsome, smooth, eloquent, strong, and charismatic; he possessed any talent that would help him win the adoration and the votes of the mobs and masses. Oh, how they had been so ignorant. Palpatine did not understand how they could not see the empty cruelty in his eyes. But then, the Governor Gastila was a master of disguises, the friendly one for people he could use to get ahead, the darker mask he wore for the expendables he used and threw away.

If Palpatine learned anything from his hated boss, it was how and when to put on the politician's mask, the one he had on now, the one that could express genuine concern for the same Senate Body that he was accusing and attacking. "There are some of us here who would aim to recklessly jeopardize the peace that we have spent so many years building. There are some of us here who would commit _treason_…treason against their great Empire, treason against their own colleagues, and…I'm regret to say this, but these publicly elected officials would commit treason against their own constituents! Fellow Senators, I implore you to beware of the traitors! Beware of the traitors who may be sitting next to you, the one who you may think is your friend, who is stabbing you in the back while wearing his mask of betrayal, and who is toppling our government from its very foundations!"

Palpatine let his words resonate through the hall, then lowered his voice. "I am a reasonable man, one of understanding and empathy. But I cannot show mercy towards the traitors, not because of any personal grudge, but because we cannot risk the damages they can inflict on the Empire. We must take action immediately! We must make sacrifices to maintain stability! I have sent the Imperial Fleet to Chandrila to crush the treachery already inflicted on the Senate by one of its own. But we cannot stop there! We cannot simply take action against such traitors after they strike! We must prevent such individuals from ever gaining power in the first place."

"That is why I am suspending the sovereign powers of the Senate according to Article 53, Clause 227 of the New Imperial Constitution. There is no need for alarm, as this is a temporarily measure and will be in effect only until we have vetted and screened the noble servants of the Galaxy. Once the new Senate reconvenes it will be an improved Senate, with only Senators who possess the utmost honesty, integrity, and loyalty! I understand the dynamic nature of this action, so I will allow you all to take some time off and consider this. Look at yourselves in the mirror. Reexamine your souls so that you know you are worthy to serve. Reconsider the motives of your friends and colleagues. We will convene for the final time in two days so that I may outline the exact procedures the new Senate approval process will follow. Thank you for coming."

The Emperor Palpatine closed his eyes and felt the atmosphere of the room. He felt the uncertainty and the fear, and he smiled under his hood. His old mentor Governor Gastija would be proud of his work, his deception.

* * *

She dreamed of Naboo. It gave her comfort. She dreamed of the cool splash of the lake on a summer morning. She was swimming. The fog still lingered and she could only see the tops of the mountains. She saw her house, her mother cooking in the kitchen and her father working in the yard. Her sister Sola sat on the porch watching Ryoo and Pooja play…

…_I move for a vote of no confidence in the supreme chancellor…_

Suddenly the sky darkened around her house. Clone troopers started surrounding her family. Shots ran out, there was fire, and Padme woke up…_it was my fault…my fault. _The room was dark save for the nightlight in the corner. Her husband slept peacefully beside her. _Ani, it was my fault Ani. The Empire, the Sith…_

"Padme?" Anakin's eyes slowly let go of sleep. "Padme, is something wrong?"

She wondered if she wanted to tell him. "Nothing, it was just a nightmare. I'm sure it was nothing."

Anakin reached his left arm around her and held her. He ran his hand slowly through her hair until he reached her shoulder, which he began to gently massage. "Nightmares can sometimes have meaning."

Padme grimaced as memories of Anakin's nightmares came back to her. Was she dreaming of the future? The present? Had it already happened…was it too late? "I dreamed of Naboo, of my family. And the Empire came after them…" Tears came out before she could force out another word.

"Padme, we'll leave for Chandrila tomorrow. We can find out the latest news from Senator Mothma. We'll go to Naboo if we have to, and we'll get your family somewhere safe."

"I'm afraid that there's nowhere safe in this galaxy. Except for this place maybe. What a price to pay for safety."

"Don't think about this planet, Angel. Think about tomorrow. About how we're going to see sunlight again."

"Have you found what you're looking for here?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure whatever it is it can wait for a few days."

"So we have to come back here?"

Anakin stood speechless for a second. He had been so excited to leave Korriban that he forgot about how the absence was only going to be temporary. "I'm sorry, Angel." A trace of a smile began to appear on his face. "Come on, Padme, think of it like this. It's just the two of us here. Just imagine that this is our honeymoon."

"Can I picked the destination next time we get married?" The two of them shared a nervous laugh.

"You're even more beautiful in the dark, you know."

It always made her uneasy when Anakin called her beautiful, especially now as echoes of her guilt still ran through her head…

…_I move for a vote of no confidence in the Supreme Chancellor…_

…and she certainly didn't feel any beauty at the moment. "Beauty," she said to no one particular, reciting an old phrase she had heard when she was a child, "is in the eye of the beholder."

"Of Padme Naberrie," corrected Anakin mischievously, and immediately he felt a playful slap on his chest. At least she was smiling. "Ok, I'll admit that was a bad line. But I stand behind it one hundred percent."

She looked into his blue eyes and felt his comfort. She felt his compassion for her, how he truly wanted her to feel better. She never felt more loved in her life. "You got one thing wrong. It's Padme Naberrie _Skywalker_." It sounded so right.

The words had their effect on her husband as he slowly leaned closer to kiss her for a brief moment, and whispered into her ear, "the secret's out, I guess."

"The public will be shocked"

"Scandalized."

"Mortified."

"And happy, for their former Queen and Senator."

"Anakin?"

"Angel?"

"Thank you." _If only I were this helpful when you had your nightmares._

"Anything for you." They bathed in each other's warmth for a few minutes.

"I think I'm ready to go to bed now." They lay back down as neither let go of the other. "Ani, when we get through all this" there was no uncertainty in her voice "you're going to be a great father."

"And you'll be the best mother." She rested her head under his chin and Anakin felt his wife breathing slowly onto his chest. He delved into her heart for a quick second. "Padme," he barely whispered.

"Mmmm."

"It's wasn't your fault. None of it was. It was nobody's fault," _but mine._

"Thanks."

* * *

Palpatine paced through the palace, the adrenaline from his speech still racing through his cold blood. As he approached his apprentice's room he could not feel Darth Rache's presence. That was good, he thought, as he opened the door. The Dark apprentice sat in silence on the floor in a deep meditation.

"You are doing a fine job with your cloaking exercises, apprentice. I did not sense you until I came into the room."

Darth Rache opened his eyes. "Thank you, Master."

"Rise, Lord Rache. You will use your new abilities on your first mission."

"Really? You've found Skywalker?" He could not believe how quickly he would get his revenge. Perhaps the Dark Side did have its benefits.

"Patience, my apprentice, is the Sith's deadliest weapon. As far along as you were in your Jedi training, and as powerful as you have become in the Dark Side, you are by no means ready to face the elder Skywalker yet." Palpatine recalled how he waited seven years to kill the Governor of Naboo, how he waited twenty years to kill his father and Sith Master. And he had learned so much from them while waiting.

"Then what would you have me do, Master."

"The Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and the child of Skywalker have taken refuge at a rebel base on Utapau. You will go there and cause havoc with the rebels, but only as a diversion. Your first test will be to face Jedi Kenobi. There is no way you can defeat him head on, but your weapon will be his compassion. Use the cloaking techniques I've taught you, hide your emotions, your hate, your darkness. Appeal to him, beg him for help. And once his guard is off, kill him."

"Yes, Master."

"When he is dead I want the Skywalker infant brought back to me. He will be a powerful Dark Lord and he will help us get revenge on Darth Vader."

"Yes, Master." There was more eagerness in his voice now. "But if I ask, why did we not simply get the two of them on Tatooine?"

"You will not question my judgment, Darth Rache. Remember that. But your question is a fair one. A death of a Jedi on Tatooine will go by unnoticed. To infiltrate the heart of a rebel base and kill the strongest of them will strike fear on those who oppose us, especially the ones in Chandrila."

"Yes, Master. I see your wisdom now."

"Go then. Remember, do not rely on brute force on this mission. Use your mind, use your cleverness, and use deception." Darth Sidious watched his apprentice run off. He was such a hopeless child, with nowhere to turn but the Dark Side.

When he first went to Theed to serve the Governor, Palpatine had hope. He was glad to leave his father and escape for awhile the teachings of the Sith. It was most unfortunate that his time with the Governor was even worse than with Darth Plagueis. He did mind the occasional physical beatings that much for he received those at home too. It was the feeling of utter uselessness and expendability that disgusted Palpatine, and, he noticed, everyone else who worked for the Governor.

Yes, the Governor's Office was every bit as dark as his home, and he certainly wasn't the only victim of the private side of Deju Gastija's personality. There was a servant girl about his age. Her name was Lade. He remembered her eyes, how sad they were, but how they would sparkle with hope whenever she saw him. Palpatine felt sorry for the girl; she had no family and no other options but to serve Governor Gastija, who seemed to treat her worse than anyone else.

He had been her last hope, he later found out. He did not know what she saw in a dark, quiet boy like him, and he didn't know what to say when she poured her heart out to him. She had professed her undying love for him, but Palpatine's Master never taught him about a situation like this. Palpatine didn't know how to express any compassion for her. He did not know how to comfort her, to reach out to her. He did not know how to tell her that he had observed her for so long and loved her too, as much a Sith Apprentice could love a girl. Palpatine could only watch himself mutter something Darth Plagueis had taught him, about how love was pain, how love was useless, how there was no place in the Darkness for love.

She took his words to mean rejection and ran off in tears of shame. Palpatine felt shame too. How could he drive her away like that? How could he treat her like the Governor treated her, like how his father treated his mother. He went home that night and brought with him the next day a flower.

It was a rare flower that only grew in the deepest caves of Naboo. It grew in the darkness, feeding on the crystal-filled soil of the cave. The flower was an extraordinary sight, for when the occasional explorer would venture upon it he would see it glowing, lighting up the entire cave, filling it with every color of the spectrum. What made the flower so valuable, though, was how even when picked it would retain its glow for years and years. Such flowers were treated as jewelry, given to the beloved ones of the richest and most powerful.

His mother was but a simple girl from the mountains, but she had come across such a flower one day while exploring the caves near her home. She had been lost and frightened, wandering in the darkness until she saw a glimmer far ahead of her. The glimmer of light grew brighter and brighter until she finally saw the flower, the beauty of it filling her heart with hope. She picked the flower and used it as a light to find her way back.

His mother had given the flower to him years ago, before she died, after an especially severe beating the two of them had received from Darth Plagueis. She told Palpatine that she loved her son and always will, no matter what happened to her, no matter what happened to him, no matter what he became. She had given him the flower to remind him of her love. _"In even the darkest of hours," she had whispered, blood still trickling down her cheeks._

So Palpatine had brought the flower for Lade the next day, to show her its light, to give her hope, to express his feelings for her. He ran from room to room looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Palpatine was too late. She had killed herself, jumped out a window in the Royal Palace. A handmaiden pointed him to that window, a large one overlooking a cliff. The handmaiden referred to the window as something called _Oeden's Fall_ and told him some story, but Palpatine did not hear a word. He peered out the window, down into the nothingness below. He had been her only hope, and he had failed her. She had been his only hope, he knew now, and he had failed himself. As Darth Sidious contemplated Lade's death in despair he wanted to follow her out the window and down the cliffs.

Only his soul followed her down. The rest of him stood by _Oeden's Fall_ and stared at the flower in his hands.


	8. C6 Misguided Vengeance

Sorry about the lack of an update, it's been a busy few days for me. This is a mediocre chapter, but it is a setup for later events in this story as well as the sequel. The heart of the story is coming up in the next few chapters.

Chapter 6-Misguided Vengeance

The tension around her was unbearable to most people but Sabe loved it. She, like the rest of the hastily assembled Chandrilian Fleet, had been nervously awaiting the impending arrival of the Empire. Now that they were coming, Sabe felt only relief. It wasn't the Empire that terrified her; it was the inaction, the purgatory the entire planet chose to place themselves in under false pretenses of ignorance to the coming storm. People tried to carry on as usual as if these were normal times, times of peace.

She had to give the people of Chandrila credit, though. Inspired by the courage of their Senator's denouncement of the Empire, they rallied to Mon Mothma's cause, vowed to support and protect her, drove away the scattered Imperial forces on the planet, and ended diplomatic ties with the Empire. It was this courage that gained the attention of Sabe, that caused her to twist herself away from the torrid limbo of the Naboo Royal Palace and join passionately in a cause she knew her old friend Padme would most certainty believe in. Her close relationship with Mon Mothma's old colleague and friend had won her a spot as a trusted aide of the Chandrilian Senator, and she had been even more thrilled when discovered that Padme herself made occasional visits to the planet.

She was with Anakin now. Sabe was truly happy for the two. They had been close ever since they had first met; she had sensed that her Queen had developed a special bond with the little hero of Naboo, and was not surprised that the two of them were married. The love between the two of them was so perfect, so complete, and Sabe wondered if she would find that kind of love one day for herself, before she got too old.

Senator Mothma, as they still referred to her with that title in respect, had worked tirelessly the past year putting together a ragtag rebel alliance, and Sabe had been there with her every step of the way. The rest of Chandrila, however, saw their momentary courage fade away and quickly lapsed into a state of knowing obliviousnesss. Now that the dark reality had finally dawned upon them there was nothing but hopeless panic. The few warriors left among them had all gathered onto the moon of Frorick as a temporarily base for the Chandrila Fleet.

As Sabe tirelessly worked the databases, Senator Mothma turned to her in a state of lethargic joy. "Good news, Sabe. The Mon Calamarians have sent a fleet of three starships under the command of Lieutenant Ackbar and should be arrive here shortly to reinforce us. This, along with the help we are getting from Serenno, should nearly double our resistance capabilities."

"And what of our allies on Utapau?" She had a special interest in that group.

"General Kenobi arrived safely a few days ago with the son of Skywalker. I do not want them to abandon their base and have told them so, but he and General Dodonna insist on joining us. Oh, and I almost forgot, Senator Organa has allowed the Alderaanian volunteer army to 'desert' and help our cause."

"Our numbers do seem to add up well against theirs. Senator Organa told us the Empire is only sending three Destroyers." Sabe was eager and confident for the upcoming battle. She imagined herself sneaking away in a fighter and blowing up the Super Star Destroyer by herself. Hey, if that Anakin could do it as a nine-year old…

"Have you ever seen a Destroyer ship, Sabe?"

"No, I haven't."

"Without chance on our side, a standard class Destroyer is powerful enough to take out the entire Mon Calamarian Fleet." She did not verbally express her regret at having inviting her friends to their likely deaths.

"We have the Force on our side though, Senator."

Mon Mothma looked at her aide sadly. She was so young and naive. "My dear Sabe, I hope you'll realize sooner rather than later that there is no glory in battle. Only death."

* * *

Darth Rache blinked his eyes in anticipation as the young Corellian's ship approached the planet of Utapau. He felt so close to his ultimate goal of revenge, a revenge that forced him to ally himself with the unthinkable evil. He couldn't let the shadow down though, not on his first mission for him. Trust from his Master was necessary, he knew, for him to see the realization of his desires.

Sacrifices had to be made for that ultimate goal. Darth Rache, former Jedi Padawan, would have to kill for the first time. He would have to kill the rebels at the base, rebels who in a previous life he felt he might have sympathized with. He would have to kill a Jedi Master with the devious powers of deception, powers that he had only recently been aware of.

But then, he and the Temple younglings had been most deviously deceived by Skywalker. And who was Skywalker's Master, his mentor, his best friend? Darth Rache allowed the fury the burn inside him, and he directed that fury against Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi was equally responsible for the massacre at the Temple, and Kenobi was equally deserving of punishment.

His ship found its way to the coordinates his Master had given him, diving into the deep sinkholes that dotted the planet's surface under the cover of nightfall. He landed a few levels above the Rebel base and slowly worked his way down. He crept silently and was undetected by the few sentries whom he Force choked to death at a distance. He would not use his lightsaber now, for he did not want to attract any attention.

As he finally approached the makeshift base he saw two people conversing with each other. There was no one else up at this time of the night. He reached out into the Force to see his prey. One of them seemed to be an officer, a tough man who would put on a good fight but did not stand a chance against his powers. The other was an invalid; he lacked legs and moved around in a hoverchair…_Skywalker!_ Skywalker's presence surrounded this man, and as that foul traitor's scent invaded Darth Rache's perception he felt all his control and cloaking disappear.

* * *

Obi-Wan jerked awake in the middle of the night and he immediately felt for his lightsaber. There was a disturbance in the Force. It was a dark presence, the fingerprint of the Sith. Obi-Wan immediately sprinted from his room and into the hallway, trying to trace the darkness to his source. He found himself at the entrance of the cave that housed the makeshift base and found the corpses of General Dodonna and Cliegg Lars. He examined them closer and discovered that their chests had been pierced by a lightsaber. Thoughts and anxieties of the following morning's mission to reinforce their Chandrilian allies were immediately overshadowed by this new threat. The enemy was here.

Obi-Wan did not need use of the Force to follow the Sith's oddly familiar presence through the base. He followed the corpses of the recently slaughtered, the unfortunate trail of a mad rampage. Luke! Obi-Wan searched for him through the Force and was relieved to find that he along with the rest of the Lars were still safe, for the moment.

* * *

Darth Rache felt the pain and suffering around him and basked in him, giving him the strength to continue. His thoughts were not focused on his mission, but he told himself that his Master had told him to wreak havoc on the base. And the child! He had to get the child of Skywalker.

Darth Rache allowed himself to grin. Killing Skywalker would be the ultimate satisfaction, but holding the fate of his child in his hands had to come close. He felt for the disturbance in the Force that his Master had told him about and sprinted as fast as he could towards where he knew the infant was. He was almost there when he felt another disturbance in the Force. Kenobi! He had forgotten about the other Jedi.

* * *

The two of them faced off in a waiting room. Obi-Wan was horrified when he saw the face behind the dark Sith cloak, as well as the red lightsaber that glared in the hands of Mace Windu's former Padawan.

"Padawan Grello! What do you think you are doing?"

The response was pure anger. "You! Don't you even dare call anyone your Padawan! You don't deserve to be a Master, not after what you've done!" Darth Rache had completely forgotten his Master's advice on facing Kenobi. There was no hiding or cloaking. Darth Rache projected his anger blatantly to anyone that might sense it.

"I don't understand, Tep. What have I done?"

"You are a monster! Just like the one you created!" With no more hesitation he made the first move against his Jedi opponent, aiming his bright red lightsaber straight at Kenobi's heart.

Obi-Wan reacted quickly and easily fended off his opponent's blows one after another. Tep Grello had been close to Knighthood and his saber skills were more than adequate, but he had neither Obi-Wan's strength nor his experience. Obi-Wan let the battle between them act as merely a diversion as he plunged his thoughts deep into his opponent's heart, seeking the motivation that drove this pitiful excuse for a Sith Lord. He saw an image of Anakin raising his lightsaber, of Mace Windu falling out the window, and of Anakin's rampage in the Jedi Temple. He noticed how Tep Grello favored his right arm over his left one, which seemed to be dead to the Force. The answers came quickly to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan stopped his passive defense and shifted to an offensive stance. He started lashing out at the former Padawan and pushed him back into a corner. Grello snarled at him and defended himself fiercely. Obi-Wan finally spoke.

"Tep, listen to me. I'm sorry for your loss. The Jedi Order has suffered much lately."

"The only ones who will suffer will be you and your Padawan."

_How blinded is he by his dark delusions? Does he not know that he is cornered and at my mercy?_ "Padawan, let me help you. Wrongs have been committed, but you can't right those wrongs by helping the evil that caused them in the first place."

"Don't tell me what to do, Kenobi. I am not a Jedi anymore, and I don't need your lectures." He lunged at Obi-Wan, aiming his lightsaber at his neck. Obi-Wan met the parry and pressed back with his weapon, slowly pushing the red lightsaber back towards Darth Rache's neck.

"You sound like the very man you seek vengeance against, Grello. I see you are a fitting replacement for him." There was no reply. "Why are you here, Tep? Do you think killing me result in anything?"

"I am here to…" but he paused when he remembered the other part of his task.

"You are here for the boy, aren't you?" Damn, he didn't do as good a job as he thought on Tatooine, and Cliegg had paid for it with his life. "Do you know why Darth Sidious wants Anakin's son?" Obi-Wan pushed forward with his saber, backing Tep up against the wall until he had no room to move. Tep considered the question. Perhaps his Master would kill the boy out of spite. Or they would have held him as bait for Skywalker. Perhaps his Master even wanted Tep to train the boy as a Sith.

"You are a fool, Tep Grello, if you think that. How much do you really know about the Sith?"

"More than you can ever imagine, Jedi!"

"Then you must know the rule of two. There is only a Master and an Apprentice. No more, no less."

Darth Rache hadn't been informed of that rule before. He considered its ramifications. Surely it didn't mean…

"You are right. I'm sure Sidious does mean to train young Luke," said Obi-Wan. "It's quite devious of him to send you to bring him your own replacement."

"No. You lie!"

"Who deals with lies, Tep? The Jedi or the Sith?"

Darth Rache responded with a strength and fury unknown to him before, unleashing the full might of the Force. Obi-Wan was caught by surprise as he felt himself pushed into the opposite side of the room. His shoulder caught the edge of an end table and his lightsaber flew out of his hands. It was a perfect opportunity for the young Sith Lord, but by the time Obi-Wan regained his senses his opponent had already ran off. He considered a pursuit, but realized he had more important priorities to deal with than a confused kid pretending to be a Sith Lord.

With General Dodonna dead he had to organize what remained of the rebel forces on Utapau by himself and reach Chandrila in time to defend the Senator. The Lars and Luke weren't safe either, not with the Empire's knowledge of their location. Obi-Wan swore at himself, trying to make the best of a bad situation. Finally, he concluded that Luke, Owen, and Beru would accompany him to Chandrila. After he had led the rebels to their destination Obi-Wan would take his leave and bring Anakin's son to safety at Dagobah.

* * *

He raced through the caves in dark confusion. He did not want anything to do with Obi-Wan anymore. He sensed that what he had said about the Sith to be true. He Master had betrayed him then. He could not go back to Sidious. He had failed him anyhow. He didn't have the boy, and Obi-Wan was still alive. He had nowhere to go. He had revealed himself to the Jedi, and once word got out they would hunt him down and kill him. As would his Master, as punishment for this utter failure. Darth Rache did not hold any delusions about his Master's capacity for mercy. Maybe before his conversation with Obi-Wan, but not now. Not if he was a meaningless fill-in, an expendable gap between two generations of Skywalkers. For once the Jedi and the Sith had a common cause, and it was to kill him.

His mind raged at the Skywalkers for being more important than him. He raged at Sidious for his deception. He raged at Obi-Wan for telling him the truth. He raged at himself for being an unknowing pawn. That was it, he told himself. He would not be a pawn any longer. He would not go into hiding. He would get his revenge on all of them.

Darth Rache remembered something his Master had said about a dark planet filled with the secrets of the Sith. What was its name? Corridor? Corribor? Korriban! Yes, that was it. He didn't need a master to learn the dark arts. He will teach it to himself, absorb all the darkness there, and become more powerful than his enemies could imagine.


	9. C7 The Nature of the Darkness

**_I just noticed that the website didn't recognize my double spacing in Microsoft Word, so I have inserted breaks into places where they are necessary. I am very sorry for any previous confusion. Hopefully the story will be much more clearer now._**

Chapter 7-The Nature of the Darkness

Most of the Sith Temple was pitch black, save for the few that let the outside lightning flash brief glimpses of light into the building through windows. To navigate through the Temple one had to rely solely on the Force. Though he was already familiar with the place Anakin still moved with extreme caution, finding his way to a hexagonal room that he had always been quietly avoiding. The moderately large room was located at the center of the building, connecting two hallways with doors on opposite ends. It was illuminated by a small window on the ceiling. He did not know what it had been used for a millennia ago, but he had a feeling that this place was the heart of the Temple. A vortex of confused darkness swirled about in the room, a microcosm of everything that was the planet. He and Padme would depart on a brief respite later, but before he left Anakin felt that he had to give it one more try. He made his way into the room and sat down to meditate, hoping to find the clues that led to the still elusive and unknown answer he was seeking.

He focused on the thought of Padme. She was so happy today that she almost glowed. There was hope in her now, hope that she would escape the nightmare that he had dragged her into, hope that she would hear news of the children that she could not be allowed to see. He turned his thoughts to Leia. She was happy. She was in a nurturing environment with the wife of Organa. Perhaps Leia thought of her as her own mother now. Would she remember Padme? And how would her adopted mother feel when he and Padme were lucky enough to take Leia away from her? And how would Owen and Beru feel when…

_LUKE! Danger!_ Anakin sensed a darkness surrounding his son. He reached further outward and felt that the immediate danger had already passed, but the darkness was still relentless in its pursuit of Luke. And it was closing in.

Anakin felt nothing but anguish and fear. His son was going to fall only because of the misfortune of being the son of Skywalker. Everything he touched he destroyed. He hadn't been able to save his mother. He almost killed Padme, and even now forced her to live in a world of darkness away from her children. He had betrayed Obi-Wan and destroyed the Jedi Order. And now his son. He couldn't let it continue anymore. He had to save him!

Anakin opened his eyes and leaped up from his meditation. There would be a change of plans; they would not go to Chandrila. Before he could move, however, he felt an eerie presence and heard an ominous sound of painful attempts to breathe. A dark figure stepped into the room from the entrance opposite him. He wore a black armor and a sinister domed helmet with a dark cape following his trail. Anakin was horrified as he felt the identity of this villainous figure. It was himself, the epitome of the dark deeds he had committed and the darkness that still lay within him. It wasn't Anakin Skywalker that destroyed all that he touched, it was this dark figure. Anakin would vanquish it and make everything right.

"Darth Vader", he said. He lit his lightsaber and simultaneously his opponent did the same.

* * *

The ship itself was blackness traveling through the void of hyperspace, occupied and driven only by a shadow. The Emperor had not informed anyone of his departure or destination, as he was not beholden to any authority. The Empire would survive his absence for a few days. 

He knew his apprentice had failed. It was not unexpected. Palpatine had taken a risk with the young man in pitting him against an experienced Jedi Master. Had he followed Palpatine's advice there was no doubt that he would have succeeded, but Darth Sidious knew of the nature of Darth Rache. Whatever he may have been as a Jedi, the Dark Side had taken away his discipline.

The young man's failure was disturbing, but fairly inconsequential in the long run. Apprentices such as he could be replaced. What truly mattered was that the galaxy was closing in on the Skywalkers, and Darth Sidious knew that their reappearance in the tide of events was imminent. The betrayal of Anakin had been most disturbing to the Dark Lord. He knew something of significance occurred on Mustafar, but he could not grasp exactly what had happened. His deepest meditations on the subject had brought only vague traces of light followed by a blinding vision of colors. For the first time in ages Palpatine felt events spiraling beyond his control as he felt uncertainty surround him. The Chosen One prophecy loomed menacingly in the shadows of his mind despite the fact that he dismissed it as an old Jedi tale.

In drawing him out of hiding, Darth Sidious knew that he would have to face his former apprentice. Perhaps Anakin had grown more powerful, but Sidious had no qualms about a showdown between the two, for he knew that true power lay in knowledge of the enemy. Darth Sidious knew Anakin's mind as well as his own, and he would still be able to manipulate the boy. He would have a Skywalker one way or another. The Chosen One may already be lost to him, but Sidious salivated at the prospect of training another Skywalker from infancy.

Palpatine himself was born to become a Sith. His father Darth Plagueis moonlighted during the day as the Duke of Theed. His vast inheritance and aristocratic title gave him the freedom and resources to pursue his dark studies. When the need for an apprentice arose Plagueis ventured into the mountains of Naboo and stole a young girl moderately sensitive to the Force. Her name was Chadre, and she bore him a son even more powerful than the father. Darth Plagueis foresaw his son as the most powerful Dark Lord of any age, but still beholden to him through blood.

Palpatine had been a child once, growing up in a dark palace under the ever-present eye of his Sith Master. The lessons were cruel and drained his very soul at times. He respected and worshipped his father for his great powers, and hated him for his cruelty, especially towards his mother.

The Duke of Theed kept Chadre under lock in a basement dungeon, subjecting her to the worst tortures that could be inflicted by a Sith Lord not for his own sadistic enjoyment but as a lesson to his son whenever he displayed love, affection or sympathy for his poor mother. Palpatine was forced to watch the consequences of love and was forced to feel the pain that his mother suffered as a result of his love. Still, there was no way he could deny his love for his mother. The more his overbearing father punished them, the more he turned to his mother as his only refuge in the darkness.

Chadre accepted the pain as part of her fate, but her heart ached at the fact that her son had to witness and feel her pain. On a rare night when the Duke of Theed left to attend a royal function Palpatine found his way to her. The two of them shared a rare moment to themselves, and Chadre told her son of a Nubian shroud made of the P'lui silk, a shroud that women of her village traditionally wore on their wedding day. The P'lui shroud was one of the thinnest garments in the galaxy, the silk woven so closely together that the fabric was sturdy enough to reflect light, giving the bride a radiant glow on her wedding day.

She told her son to hide his feelings for her in a P'lui shroud so dense that his father would never detect it. Palpatine formed an image in his head of a black shroud, so dark that it was invisible not only from the human eye but also from the Force itself. He placed all that he was into that shroud and from that day on forever dwelled in that refuge. Never again would his father be able to read his feelings and punish his mother for them.

There were no celebrations for Palpatine on the tenth anniversary of his birth. His father led him down to the dungeons and made him face his mother. Darth Plagueis then with his left hand ignited his lightsaber and pointed it at his son's throat. With his right hand he handed Palpatine a lightsaber. There were but two choices for the boy: either he would kill his mother, or his father would kill him. Darth Sidious was born when he chose himself over his mother. When he chose darkness over love.

As he pledged his loyalty to his Master over the body of his mother, Darth Sidious vowed vengeance on his father, a vow that he would wait patiently for twenty years to fulfill. He hid his resolve under his shroud, in a place so dark that no light to penetrate into it. He had no qualms about his vow. The Dark Side was thicker than blood. The shroud was his home now, and Darth Sidious foresaw the day when his dark shroud will encompass the entire galaxy.

* * *

The two silent figures circled each other around the room, and it was Vader who struck first, hacking his saber at Anakin, who in a defensive stance fended off each blow. He swore that would not give any ground to this enemy. Without warning Vader jumped with a startling agility and Anakin barely was able to defend a strike towards his backside. As Anakin turned around Vader jumped over him again tried the same tactic. Anakin again twirled around just in time and realized that he had to change strategies. If he kept to a defensive strategy Vader would just leap around until he wore him down. 

As Darth Vader shifted to his side Anakin struck with a new fury and advanced. He feigned strikes, switched hands holding the lightsaber, and struck as hard as he could, but the Sith anticipated his every move and matched his strength with equal power. The more his offensives failed the angrier Anakin got. As he drew strength from the Dark Side and attacked with an increasing ferocity his opponent responded with even more powerful counterattacks, several of which almost got through.

_No, I can not attack him with the Dark Side, it'll only feed his strength_. He backed off and calmed himself. Vader approached somewhat hesitantly and tentatively struck at him. Anakin had no problem meeting his attacks as he pondered on how to defeat him. How does one fight himself? Vader knew every move he was going to try on him, and vice versa. Was he even real? It didn't matter. The crimson lightsaber slashing at his heart seemed real enough.

_What if I can't defeat myself? _He had precious little time to think as he fought, but he had to, for he sensed that he could not defeat Vader. _What if I'm not meant to defeat myself?_ Anakin made a dashing retreat to the edge of the room and turned off his lightsaber. His opponent did the same and stared with his mechanical eyes across at the cold stalemate.

Anakin looked at the physical manifestation of his dark side. Is this what it looked like, what I look like inside? This hideous creature? He searched within himself and found no answers. He suddenly wondered what was inside the armor of his doppelganger. The darkness met him with a little resistance but soon gave way. Anakin saw the pathetic remains of a man inside the outfit. A man with no limbs, no light, and no hope. A burnt and scarred man, one who was whose fragile state was not evident by his outward appearance. His visions from Mustafar came back to Anakin as he remembered the burning and the darkness afterwards, except this time the darkness afterwards was this machine-man Darth Vader.

Anakin took a step closer to Vader/himself. He saw him now not as an object to hate and destroy, but to pity. Vader stepped forward too, finding himself directly under the ceiling window and bathed in the meager light that flowed through it. Anakin felt his dark side's emotions and saw through the machine's eyes. He saw himself, his present self, with his deep blue eyes, his long blond hair still flowing down to his shoulders, and three of his limbs still natural. Through his eyes he felt Vader's intense hatred for Anakin, but it was more than that. He felt Vader's jealousy of Anakin, of how he yearned to be him, to be human again, to be good again, and his despair of the innocence and light that he had lost.

_You don't need to feel that way_, he thought to his darker self. _I, Anakin Skywalker, am still a part of you and always will be._ If that was true, however, that would mean that…_and you are a part of me and always will be._ He could never destroy the darkness that dwelled within him, for it was as much a part of him as all the good that he was. _Balance. There must be balance._ Anakin reached out his hand and felt a black glove take ahold of it. With man and machine touching Anakin looked beyond Darth Vader's mechanical eyes and into his own eyes inside the mask. The dark figure slowly vanished. Anakin took a step back and stared at where Darth Vader had been standing when another presence took its spot under the window.

"Qui-Gon." He had felt the old Jedi's ghost before, but this was the first time he actually saw him.

"You have done well, Anakin." Qui-Gon's face beamed with pride.

"What have I done? What was that?"

"You know yourself more than I do, Anakin."

"I…I refused to fight him…myself. I realized I could balance him…"

"You accepted him, Anakin. You accepted the darkness that is a part of your soul. Do not try to fight it, for it is not your destiny."

"I will bring balance to the Force within myself, right?"

"You will bring balance to the Force everywhere, but where else could you start. And only after acknowledging your darkness can you attempt to balance its desires."

"So what now? Can I face Sidious? And Luke's in danger, I have to rescue…"

"Slow down, Anakin. Let the Force guide you." Qui-Gon's apparition was starting to fade. Sensing his anxiety and confusion, Qui-Gon offered Anakin his last piece of advice. "Remember, Anakin, there are always more than two choices."

And then he was gone, and Anakin was alone. What to do now? He might as well follow Qui-Gon's advice. Let the Force guide him. Through what to start with? Anakin realized his first dilemma, minor as it was. There were two doors to exit the room. There it was! Two! It was most likely just a coincident, but Anakin felt that he had to look beyond these two immediate and obvious choices. Or maybe he was insane and should just pick a door and leave. Unsure, he looked back to where Qui-Gon had been standing, hoping he would appear again and give him the answer.

No ghosts appeared, but Anakin noticed something different about the floor under the window. He reached into the Force to feel that part of the floor and noticed that the area under it was hollow. It was a trapdoor of some kind, possibly, but he saw no way of opening it. Unless…Anakin used the Force to lift a solid piece of the floor up and into the air. Under it was a dark hole with steps leading down into the nether regions of the Sith Temple. Against the common sense of most Anakin stepped down into the darkness.

He couldn't see now, and again he had to use the Force to navigate his way through. He was underground now, he knew that. He also knew that he was in a labyrinth of some sort. There had to be a way out, he told himself. He tried to sense for any opening that led back up, any light at the end of the tunnel. He found something. A vague trace of light, yet it was powerful. He couldn't see it yet, but he walked through the pitch-black spaces towards where it was. This was something different, a different type of light, one that he had not yet encountered on this dark planet. It seemed…natural. He kept walked until finally he saw a dim glimmer of it in the distance.


	10. C8 The Once and Future Sith

Again, thank you so much for your kind reviews. Sorry about the long delay in the update. I had a little bit of writer's block trying to figure out in which direction to take some of the characters.

Chapter 8-The Once and Future Sith

Sabe awaited their arrival with contained enthusiasm. She recently heard about an attack on Utapau, and had been relieved to find that General Kenobi had survived. Their fleet had just emerged from hyperspace and was about to dock onto the Chandrilian Flagship, _The Protector_. She hadn't seen him in years, though it wasn't as if all of her thoughts dwelled upon a celibate Jedi Master who seldom was aware of her even from his peripheral perception. It wasn't love she felt for him, but a fond hope, a crush she for him she held onto from her younger days developing into the last strand of light her she still held onto with the most tenuous of grasps in the darkness and gloom that surrounded. The Empire was closing in on them, but she knew that it would all be better when he arrived.

He was approaching now. She stood by her Senator's side, awaiting his arrival and hoping that he would recognize her. He didn't. He recognized her boss though. Actually, he seemed to blush when caught in the sight of Senator Mothma, his cheeks matching his hair in color. The Senator was all business, explaining how they were already fending off the first waves of the Imperial attack, inquiring about the events of Utapau, and trying to foment a course of action. The mighty Jedi Master followed diligently her every word, acquiescing to every point she made. The only subject matter in which he seemed to show a personal resolve in his discussion was when he discussed Padme's child; he seemed sincerely reluctant to say that he would have to leave with the child if the battle got out of hand. She knew that his reluctance wasn't because of her, an eternal servant to the mighty and powerful. The room all of a sudden seemed very dark and cold to Sabe.

* * *

Hyperspace was a dark place for Darth Rache. He had nowhere to turn. He knew that in time even the darkness would reject him, and he did not know whether he still possessed the intrinsic qualities that would allow him to return to the light. Besides, what light was there to return to? His old master was dead; all the light that he knew had been destroyed by Skywalker.

He had been one of the better Padawans of his age group and perhaps only months from advancement to Knighthood. Darth Rache briefly considered in his mind that he was no match against Skywalker alone. He needed to become more powerful, more learned in the Dark Side. That much was certain. But he also needed allies, kindred spirits who shared his hatred of Anakin Skywalker. He had lost his most powerful ally with his failure at Utapau, but surely a man as well known as Skywalker had made enemies in the Galaxy. He could find these enemies and organize an alliance.

And what about an apprentice? In such a large galaxy there has to be someone else who is interested in learning the dark arts. Now in a deep meditation, he visualized he and his apprentice leading an army, overwhelming Skywalker, and becoming more powerful than Darth Sidious himself. Suddenly, Darth Rache was overwhelmed by a vision of bright fire. He was falling into a sun, being consumed by the flames, and yet he felt not heat, but the intense, unbearable coldness of pure ice.

He came to from his meditation just as his ship exited hyperspace. He felt the warmth of space, relative to where he had just been, and was shocked when he felt the coldness of his flesh and the iciness of his blood, which seemed to have ceased flowing altogether. He turned the heat generators on the ship to full power. As he slowly warmed up he felt a strong presence that immediately made him forget his vision. Skywalker! He was here. He felt him as strongly as the day when he lost his arm to a figure with a blue lightsaber and hauntingly yellow irises. If Darth Rache had a mirror, which he did lack, he would have seen that his own eyes were burning in the same color.

* * *

Anticipation turned into anxiety as Padme waited for her husband to return. It had been hours since he left for one last "quick meditation" before leaving the planet. Could he be in trouble? Hurt? She had performed repeated scans for lifeforms in the past few hours, and not surprisingly the scans resulted in only her and her husband in the temple. That did not comfort her one bit though, as she imagined what kinds of horrible non-living _things_ could exist on this planet and harm Anakin. She had hesitantly left their ship in an attempt to find him. It was her first time in the Sith Temple, and the only reason she didn't venture further into the place was because she couldn't see a thing in the building. So all she could do was wait. And hope. And watch another ship approach the planet's atmosphere on the radar.

* * *

As he landed he felt another living being on the planet other than Skywalker. Whoever it was he knew for a fact wasn't strong in the Force. A smirk crept onto his face as he realized that he could perhaps take advantage of this situation. He approached the main entrance of the ship, which seemed to be a fairly large one of the Nubian make. How could Skywalker have anything to do with Naboo? It didn't matter though. He was so close his vengeance, and the person inside the ship just could give him leverage against his enemy.

Darth Rache found the door to be unlocked as he charged unevenly into the ship. He was perplexed when he was greeted by a droid instead of the sentient being he was expecting.

"Greetings. Allow me to introduce myself. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg…"

"Where's your master?" Could this be the person he sensed? It didn't make sense… Darth Rache didn't get a chance to see the small woman sneaking up behind him and he didn't get a chance to finish his thoughts as he felt the muzzle of a blaster against his neck.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Padme's voice betrayed no emotion.

"Do you really think that a blaster could hurt me?" Darth Rache sneered. This should be no problem. He focused on the Force and the blaster suddenly flew out of Padme's hand. He turned around to face the woman but only caught a glimpse of her before the hilt of a chair smashed into his face, followed by the rest of the piece of furniture.

Her preparation had paid off, but this was not the situation she had hoped for, to be facing a Force-user. She looked for her blaster but found to chagrin that it had slammed against the wall and was broken. She then looked at her attacker's belt and found what she expected, a lightsaber. He woke up from a brief period of unconsciousness just after she had grabbed the weapon and ignited it.

"Now, you will answer me. Who are you?" she asked as she pointed the weapon at her would-be attacker's face, holding onto the grip with all her strength. She was vaguely competent with a lightsaber as Anakin had jokingly tried to teach her some techniques in the days after their marriage.

She was a Senator, although Darth Rache could not recall her name or planet. Probably Naboo, that would explain the ship. "I'm here to see Anakin Skywalker. Do you happen to know where he is?" he hissed in the most threatening tone possible.

"That depends. What do you want with my husband?" The lightsaber stayed resolutely still.

_Husband?_ This was something he did not know about Skywalker. And if anyone could marry him, she had to be as deserving of his hate than he was.

"I'm here to kill both of you."

Before Padme had a chance to react, he reached into the dark side and Force pushed the Senator across the room.

The attack caught her by surprise as she felt air as strong as a wall slam into her before her back crashed against a real wall. Ignoring the pain she threw the lightsaber as far as she could into an adjourning room before it could fall out of her grip.

The furious Sith got up and charged towards her. She tried escape but his fingers reached her neck first, lifting her small frame up and squeezing her against the wall. _Not again_, she thought as she was losing oxygen. _Damn. This little twerp isn't even skilled enough to choke me remotely_. She attempted to squirm away but his grip was firm, so Senator Amidala had to resort to dirtier guerrilla tactics.

He was just beginning to enjoy the suffering of his helpless victim when he felt a sharp burning pain in his groin, the result of Padme's knee. His hands instinctively left Padme's neck as he crouched in agony. Taking advantage of his current disposition she delivered as hard as she could a kick to his stomach, the blow enough to make him fall onto the floor.

"I think you underestimate me," she spat to the groaning figure below her and marveled at how easily she had beaten him. "Don't feel too bad, though. I'm a veteran. Have you ever heard of the Trade Federation Blockade or the Battle of Genoesis?"

She got an angry groan for a reply. Still, the man could use the Force and it would be dangerous for her to stay and gloat. "C-3PO! Turn the emergency alarm to top volume!" Hopefully her husband would hear that.

She didn't give the droid a chance to reply as she ran into the dining area, where the intruder's lightsaber had rolled to. Padme picked it up and ran into her sleeping room, locking the door as she entered. She called to Anakin as hard as she could through her thoughts and hoped that he could hear her through their bond, as well as the alarm. Until he arrived though, she would have to hope that the lock and a lightsaber would be enough protection.

Her respite lasted only a few minutes. Darth Rache was up again, furious and furthermore, utterly humiliated as he just had his ass handed to him by a woman, a politician no less! He raced after her and growled loudly when he found that the door was locked. Kitchen tables and chairs flew wildly around the room as his uncontrollable rage made him lash out randomly into the Force. Reason set in finally and he began to think about alternative methods of opening the door.

He was missing his saber and suspected the woman had taken, so he couldn't cut through the door. There was another way though. He concentrated with all his will and a weak and unsteady stream of electricity flowed out of the fingers of his right hand. His aim was off, and it was on his fourth attempt when the Force lightning finally found its way to the door's electronic lock and short-circuited it.

Padme saw sparks fly from the power grid of the door and made her way beside it. As her assailant banged the door down she ignited her weapon and struck. Darth Rache was caught by surprise when his own red lightsaber cut through his left arm. Padme saw the appendage fall to the floor and to her horror realized that it was a synthetic one. She moved to cut him again but before she could do so a current of electricity struck her and she fell to the floor in shock and pain.

She couldn't move as more waves of electricity hit her. Her assailant gloated above her. "I think you underestimate the power of the dark side, Senator Skywalker."

"You're only lucky I struck the wrong arm, Sith scum!"

"The same one your husband cut off. I believe he is the one responsible for your demise then." Darth Rache saw that Padme had dropped his lightsaber and it flew from the floor into his hand.

The two of them heard the door of the ship slam open and close at the same time. Anakin was back! Within seconds he was in the room, surveying the situation with growing anger. Darth Rache felt fear, to his own surprise, as he remembered just how powerful the mere presence of Anakin Skywalker was.

"Grello? What have done to my wife?" Anakin had felt his wife's pain and tried to make it through the dark mazes of the Sith temple as fast as humanly possible. He hoped he wasn't too late. Whatever balance or knowledge he had gained in his encounter in the Temple would be gone if he ever lost Padme.

"Not nearly as much as what she's done to me," he replied accusingly, his arm still missing and his head, stomach and groin still stabbing him with pain. _Wait, that's not something to be proud of_, he thought. Before he could shield his mind those thoughts had already reached Anakin, who despite the situation had to stifle a giggle.

"Not even a match for a Nubian Senator, Grello? I'm not surprised. Guess you're still the twenty-seven year old Padawan, or as Obi-Wan calls you, 'Windu's Shame'."

"You don't deserve to mention my Master's name! And don't call me Grello! It's Darth Rache to you!"

Anakin snorted with laughter. He had wanted to chop Padme's attacker slowly into pieces, but this foe was too pathetic to be taken seriously. "This is the poor excuse that Palpatine takes for an apprentice now? Makes me wonder how this same judgment made him Emperor."

Rache had been delaying for time as he was still hesitant to actually engage Skywalker in _real_ combat again, but his latest taunts were too much for his ego to handle. Hissing, he ignited his lightsaber, but nothing happened. His Force-lightning attacks at Padme had short-circuited his own weapon.

Anakin was now torn with indecision. He needed to kill Darth Rache, but despite the fact that he was a Sith and had tried to kill his wife, there was something unsatisfying to killing such a helpless opponent. _Killing this bumbling idiot would be like killing Jar-Jar_, he thought as he watched the one-armed 'Sith Lord' frustratingly trying to turn on his lightsaber. Instead he focused on Padme.

"Angel, are you alright? How bad are you hurt?" he asked, totally ignoring Darth Rache, who threw his lightsaber stub at him. Anakin deflected in the air almost as an afterthought.

"It's not that bad."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. I've received worse shocks trying to fix C-3PO."

Wounded by another insult, Darth Rache again shot lightning out of his hand, this time aiming for Anakin, who easily reached out with his palm and absorbed it with no effort. At that moment C-3PO sauntered awkwardly into the room.

"Did you call me, my lady…Oh my!"

"No," Padme admonished the droid, as she crawled to her bed and lifted herself up. She was getting a headache from the sound of the alarm. "But for God's sake, C-3PO, turn off that damn alarm!"

"Oh, certainly, milady." C-3PO was still staring with horror at the conflict between Darth Rache and his maker. "Master Anakin, do you require any assistance," he asked with all the courage he could summon. "Perhaps I could…"

"Go, C-3PO! Padme's wish is your command," Anakin yelled with annoyance as he realized that there were two pathetic lifeforms bugging him now. Well, technically C-3PO was a droid.

"I'll be more than glad to, Master." C-3PO quickly scampered back to the cockpit.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Darth Rache ceased his lightning and levitated a dresser. He hurled it at Padme, but Anakin caught it in midair and for the second time that day Rache was struck full force by a piece of furniture. Both he and the dresser flew through the wall and fell into the kitchen, with all of Padme's clothing landing in various places in the room.

Anakin finally lit his lightsaber. "I will do what I must, Darth Rache. Even though this is gonna be the most embarrassing kill I'm ever going to have." His thoughts sobered as he remembered the last time he had engaged Grello in combat, the Padawans he killed before that engagement, and the younglings he killed afterwards. He wished that he could take his last statement back.

Rache was in a complete panic now. Skywalker was coming, albeit very slowly, to kill him. Brushing the fruit-scented nightgown off his face, he pushed the dresser off his legs and ran as fast as he could off of the ship.

Padme saw the sad display and even she laughed as she approached her husband, who, with his lightsaber still on, was more concerned with the mess in the kitchen than the fleeing Sith Lord. "Are you going to go after him?"

He shook his head and deactivated his weapon. "I can't believe Palpatine is dumb enough to send _him_ after me." He picked up his wife and examined her. To his relief there didn't appear to be any burns on her. He kissed her softly on the cheek and laid her down gently onto their bed. "Are you sure you're alright though?"

"Absolutely sure. My back's a little sore but that's it. I'm serious about the electricity too. It hurt a little, kinda, but I was more stunned than anything else."

Anakin still held her closely though. She was safe, but it was still a close call. He couldn't help but be proud of the way she had stood up to her attacker. "My wife, the Sith Slayer."

"He was nothing. You were such a better Sith than he was."

"I was a better Jedi too," Anakin said with sincere humbleness.

"He was a Jedi?"

"Yes."

"What was his problem? He seemed to really hate you."

"It's a long story. When I first arrived at the Temple he was a big bully. He thought he was great cause his Master was on the Council. I stood up to him, and he challenged me to a duel. I was only ten, and he was fourteen, but I still beat him within minutes. He's hated me ever since." He paused again. "And then I kind of tried to kill him during my…uh…rampage through the Temple. I guess I'm responsible for what he is."

"Anakin, no. Don't think about the past. It's not you're fault he's a Sith. You can't let your guilt haunt you forever."

"I know, Padme. I promise, I won't. I had a cathartic experience in the Sith Temple just today. I'll tell you about it one of these days."

"No wonder you took so long." She sat upright. "We better get out of here. Palpatine must know where we are now. I wonder if Darth what's his face was just a trap."

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows for a second. "No, I don't think so. I can't sense Sidious anywhere. In fact, I don't even think he had anything to do with our friend's intrusion here. You're right though. We can't take any chances. Let's get off this God-forsaken planet for good."

Padme beamed with joy. "You mean you've found…it?"

"I think so. I'm pretty sure I know how to handle Sidious."

"Then forget that little runt. Let's get the hell out of here!"

* * *

Darth Sidious emerged out of hyperspace and switched on his ship's cloaking device. He flew to a vantage-point where he could observe the ongoing Battle of Chandrila in its entirety and waited for his opportunity.

* * *

Tep Grello cowered by himself in a dark corner of the Sith Temple. His hatred for Skywalker, no _The_ Skywalkers was more intense than ever, but even an acklay in the building wouldn't have been motivation enough for him to face them again. He just sat and eventually fell into a meditation, allowing the darkness around him to restore some of his strength and pride. The terrifying uncertainty of the future remained.

* * *

Somewhere in the farthest reaches of the Galaxy, the maiden of ice began her long journey to Coruscant. 


	11. C9 The Naive and Sentimental

Again, thank you for all your reviews and sorry about the long delay in posting. This past weekend _was_ a holiday weekend, plus I was working on a little story called "First Sight", already posted here. (Sorry about the shameless advertising.)

Chapter 9-The Naïve and Sentimental

Padme picked up the last scattered pieces of her wardrobe and threw them onto the bed. Exhausted, she looked around the room with mild satisfaction and then made her way to the cockpit where her husband was taking a nap. She positioned herself defiantly above him and lightly slapped her husband awake.

"mmm, give me another hour Obi-Wan and I'll clean the," his eyes snapped open. "Oh. Hi Padme." He could tell that he was in trouble.

"Well, I've picked up all the clothing and drywall pieces in the kitchen, repainted our wall, AND moved an extremely heavy dresser back into the bedroom all by myself, without cheating with the Force. Now tell me, Anakin Skywalker, what have you done in the past three hours?"

"Plenty, I assure you," he said, trying to disarm his wife with a sheepish grin. It didn't seem to have any effect. "I set our coordinates, won five games of Holo-Chess against 3PO, and then engaged in though-provoking Jedi meditation."

"Oh really," Padme asked sarcastically as she sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "Do all Jedi snore when they meditate?"

"Umm…I also loved you a lot?" Anakin gave his wife another grin, this one an uneasy expression. Padme seemed to be moved by his words as she moved her head towards Anakin's face as if to kiss him.

"I love you too," she said softly and then without warning she gave his ear a quick jerk. Anakin yelped and twitched in pain. "But you're gonna have to come up with something better than that."

Anakin concentrated on his thoughts as he massaged his ear, trying to soothe the pain. "Well, I _did_ save you for a Sith Lord, my dear."

"Ha! Give me another five minutes and I would have cut off his other arm. Honestly, the only thing that 'Sith Lord' knew how to do was to lose his lightsaber."

"Okay, okay. I give up." As if to act out his words Anakin sighed dramatically and leaned back on his chair, raising his arms in mock surrender. "You're right. I've done absolutely nothing."

"Of course I'm right, honey." Padme gloated in her victory. "I'm always right."

"How about this. When I finally face Sidious I am going to _demand_ that he personally clean up and repair your ship, and we'll only pay him two credits an hour and serve him only the cheapest Shuura juice."

"I like that plan. Or we can get him to reimburse us with a new ship." The smile left her face and Padme turned serious. "Anakin," she said in a firm yet apprehensive tone, "what are you going to do when you actually face him?"

Anakin turned away from her and looked into the deep reaches of hyperspace. "I'm not really sure. I think I have a hint of what I'm supposed to do…but, I can't really say that I've formed any sort of solid plan in my mind yet."

"Ani," she said as she took his hand and clutched it firmly, "I don't want to lose you again. Not to death. Not to Palpatine. Not to the Dark Side."

"The Dark Side is a myth," he stated without emotion.

"How can you believe that? After all you've seen, all you've done?"

"I guess I didn't mean for it to come out that way. What I wanted to say is, the Dark Side that the Jedi believe in doesn't exist. They think it's, it's some sort of all-powerful scapegoat to blame all the galaxy's ills on. They think that one can separate themselves from it completely, but once the Dark Side takes you over then you're lost forever, unredeemable. The Jedi believe in absolutes." He paused to allow Padme to digest the information.

"And what do you believe?"

Anakin stood up and bided his time before he finally spoke. "Something happened in there today, in the Sith Temple. I can't really explain it to you right now. I wouldn't know how to. All I can say is that I saw the nature of the Dark Side. I saw it for what it really is." He turned and walked towards where Padme was sitting and dropped down on one knee, his face so close to hers that they eyes almost seemed to merge into one, blue into brown. "Padme, had I killed Obi-Wan on Mustafar, if I remained Darth Vader, would you still love me?"

Padme broke their eye contact. "I don't know. I love you, Anakin. I will always love Anakin Skywalker. But when you were…Vader," she barely was able to utter that last word, "I felt like I didn't know who you…or he was."

"Padme, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are the same person."

"No, they can't be! Anakin, you told me you returned to the light. Wasn't that the whole reason I came with to Korriban? To keep you in the light?"

"Yes but…" Anakin pulled away from his wife and sat on the cold hard floor, "do you remember what you told me about that Nubian philosopher? The one who divided people two groups?"

"The naïve and sentimental?"

"That one. Can you refresh me on that concept again?"

"Okay," Padme agreed, though confused. "He wrote that all human beings are either naïve and sentimental. The naïve are the people who live according to themselves, their pure emotions. They are people who are still in their natural state, innocent in a way and unspoiled. The sentimental are those who lost all that, all their naturalness. They are imitators, their actions copying what they observe in society. They act according to how they perceive other people think they should act."

"And you told me that I was naïve, a ball of pure emotions. And that you, being the politician, were the sentimental one."

"Ani, I'm impressed you still remember all that." She smiled, the memory of their conversation bringing back sweet memories of the days immediately following their marriage, when they frolicked in the beautiful Lake Country of Naboo just talking and enjoying each other's company as well as other activities that kept them up until the early hours of the morning.

"I remember every word you've ever said to me, angel. About how we were perfect for each other because of our natures. That the naïve crave knowledge of society. They wish to mature to the point where they are sentimentals, while the sentimentals long to return to their natural state."

"Yes. I remember you saying that it was an excessively complicated way of saying that opposites attract."

Anakin stood up again and walked up behind Padme's seat, putting his arms around her. "So what do you think about all that? Do you really believe that all people are to be separated into two distinct groups? Are you so sentimental to the point that you never use your emotions? Am I so naïve that I have absolutely no self-control over my actions?"

"I guess not. I mean, it's only one philosopher's theory from five or six hundred years ago. You're not completely naïve, and I'm not completely sentimental. Most people are probably somewhere in the middle, with aspects of both."

Anakin smiled, a smile that he utilized whenever he knew he had won a discussion of wits or knowledge, which was a rare occasion. "So can you understand why Vader is just as much a part of who I am. Everyone has a measure of the dark side in them, no matter what the Jedi believe, and to rid yourself of that dark side is to rid yourself of who you are. It would mean that I have to rid myself of my love for you, my attachment to you. Don't forget that."

"I would still love you, that's my answer." She turned her chair around to face him. "Not what you do, but I would still love who you are. I would pity the darker part of you and always try to bring the good parts of you out. I mean, especially knowing what I know now about why you became Vader." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. The two of them shared a keep and satisfying kiss.

"Thank you, angel. That was exactly what I needed to hear."

He leaned forward to kiss her again. As their lips met Padme unconsciously pulled one hand away and clutched the japor snippet around her neck, rubbing it with her thumb. Anakin saw this and spoke to her softly, "Padme, remember this. No matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing, no matter what the situation, the little boy who gave you this will always be somewhere in there. Don't ever give up on him."

She nodded and they resumed their kiss, the tears from their eyes merging into one steady stream.


	12. C10 The Temptation of Obi Wan Kenobi

As usual, thanks for all your reviews. A lot of you are wondering what Anakin found in the Sith temple. All I can say that it will be revealed in time, and that, along with his confrontation with Vader, will play a large role in his final showdown with Sidious, which is coming up soon!

* * *

Chapter 10-The Temptation of Obi-Wan Kenobi 

Obi-Wan Kenobi allowed himself a rare moment of selfish indulgence as he stole a glance at Senator Mon Mothma entering the war room. She was dressed very simply in an elegant white robe, and it was her simple beauty that held Obi-Wan in a trance, letting himself absorbing every bit of her essence. Obi-Wan let himself go, imagining what could have been, and could still be.

For the first time in his life Obi-Wan found himself jealous of what Anakin and Padme had. Their unconditional love and acceptance of each other. Their hopes of growing old together with one another and watching their children develop and mature. How they seemed to enjoy every little moment they had between each other while temporarily forgetting the chaos that was a constant background in their lives. Seeing the happiness Anakin had made Obi-Wan wonder if those feelings were missing in his own life. Whether he would ever be able to feel them. With Senator Mothma? He definitely didn't love her, not the kind of love that would lead to an attachment, but he saw the potential. He admired her strength, her personality, and her presence in the Force. It soothed him. From a purely physical standpoint he found himself feeling natural feelings of lust, something that wasn't too foreign to a lifelong Jedi.

But was it possible? A Jedi and a Senator? Anakin had certainly pulled it off. But he wasn't Anakin. Was this just a fancy daydream spawned from too many days of baby-sitting in the desert? Unfortunately Obi-Wan did not have the time to answer his questions as the meeting was now called to a start.

"The Star Destroyers are wreaking havoc on our perimeters," began Lieutenant Ackbar. "The Destroyer _Invictus_'s attack on our flank is not being met with any significant opposition. However, if we divert our fleet to meet its charge we will not stand a chance against the combined force of the _Lightning_ and the Super Star Destroyer."

"Perhaps there is only one thing we can do," said Captain Bail Antilles, leader of the Alderaanian fleet. "If the bulk of our fleet retreats into hyperspace now, we can escape without being tracked, and we will live to fight again another day."

"If you wish to flee, Captain Antilles, that is your prerogative," stated Senator Mothma as she stood up with steel in her eyes and ice in her voice. "However, under no circumstance will any Chandrilian ship retreat and leave our planet undefended against the Imperials." Her aide Sabe stood up behind her and glared at the Alderaanian Captain with hatred.

"With all due respect, Senator, if we lose this battle your planet will be doomed to the same fate." He looked to the Mon Calamarian for help.

"My planet and I have pledged to do anything we can to fight against the tyranny of the Empire." Ackbar's large eyes blinked and his whiskers quivered in anticipation of what he was about to say to his old friend the Senator. "But we cannot sacrifice our lives and our military to a cause that is already lost. If the Imperials wipe us out here our meager Alliance will be crushed and there will be no hope left in the galaxy."

"I appreciate your candor and your honesty, gentlemen. And I cannot thank you enough for being here and helping our planet." She relented and sat back down, looking into the eyes of every person seated around the table and settling onto the only Jedi in the room. "You have not said a word yet, General Kenobi. I want your honest opinion. Can this battle be won?"

Obi-Wan had been plotting in his silence, coming up with a hair-brained plan that only a deranged lunatic such as Anakin Skywalker could think of. He dismissed the thought from his mind, but Mon Mothma's pleading eyes brought them back. "Always in motion, the future is," he stated in his most reassuring, Jedi-like voice. "No victory is ever certain, even for an Imperial Fleet. With the Force we can achieve any miracle."

"And how would this mumbo-jumbo Force of yours help us right now," asked General Rohne Keepa, the highest ranking Chandrilian below Senator Mothma present. Sabe had always disliked the arrogant man and took this opportunity as an excuse to give him a dirty look.

"Perhaps we can take out the _Invictus_ without diverting our fighters from the main assault." Obi-Wan fidgeted his fingers in his beard. "The Freedom Squadron has some of the best pilots in the galaxy, the ones that do not have Skywalker as a last name, that is. And as much as I dislike flying, I am a more than decent pilot and I am most certainly willing to sacrifice my tastes in a situation as dire as this one." He made a point of looking directly at the Senator as he said that last sentence.

He continued. "If our defenses can hold and distract the _Invictus _for another hour or so my Freedom Squadron can sneak up on the Destroyer and deactivate its outer shields. The clone pilots won't be a problem with pilots of our caliber." Another confident smirk, again directed at the Senator. Obi-Wan avoided the nagging feeling that he was starting to act like his own Padawan. "Afterwards, our combined firepower should be enough to destroy the ship or at least damage it to the point where it does not pose any damage against our main fleet."

"You plan is a risky one, General Kenobi, for yourself and your squadron more than anything else. But it is a better alternative than the others presented here today."

"Thank you, Captain Antilles. I am humbled by your confidence."

"You will be fighting for a valiant cause, General Kenobi," reassured the Senator. "If you succeed you will have saved an entire planet."

Obi-Wan wondered if he was blushing. He shrugged off Mon Mothma's praise and replied with an air of indifference as he leaned back in his chair, "Eh, it will be nothing my Padawan hasn't done since he was nine years old."

* * *

The Freedom Squadron had been the brainchild of Anakin Skywalker, though his wife had conceived of its actual name. The premise was simple: find, recruit, and gather the best pilots of the galaxy and team them up into one invincible squadron. Of course the task was much easier said than done, but the Alliance had managed to form a pretty good team. Anakin had suggested contacting old pod-racer acquaintances of his, and the eight former racers on the squadron gave the team a startling diversity of species not seen anywhere else in the Alliance. When they took time off of their respective planets, both Anakin and Obi-Wan had come to Chandrila to train and fly with these pilots. 

Obi-Wan counted over forty of them. There were some new recruits, ones that Obi-Wan did not recognize. Some of them he would never get a chance to meet considering the task they were about to partake in. Obi-Wan tried to consider his reasoning. Did he form this mission to serve the Force and the Alliance, or was it all just a sacrifice with the intention of impressing a certain Senator? It didn't matter, he told himself. The fragile Alliance Fleet faced annihilation, and this assault on the _Invictus_ its only hope. Obi-Wan only wished that Anakin were here to fly with him.

Anakin had maintained that pilots were at their best when flying their own ships, ones that they were comfortable in. And provided that Anakin himself had a chance to check and tinker with the mechanics of each vessel, each pilot had the option of keeping or picking out their own unique fighters. As a result the hodgepodge collection of the ships in the squadron shared the diversity of their pilots. Obi-Wan preferred the _Indiana Jones _himself, especially knowing that on this mission he would need its 360-degree missile firing capabilities. He sat snugly in the cockpit with R2-D2 besides him and led the first combat flight of the Freedom Squadron into space.

Within minutes they were assaulted by a wave of TIA fighters, the Empire's newest prototype. The small and speedy ships were difficult to pinpoint the crosshairs on, but they had relatively low shields and one shot usually resulted in a silent explosion. Freedom-Two, i.e. Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the rest of the squadron had no problems with the first wave they encountered. Freedom-One, of course, was a moniker reserved for the only human who had ever won a pod-race.

"Freedom-2, this is Freedom-6. There are three groups of TIA's incoming from 0300, 0900, and 1700."

Obi-Wan observed the radar. "Copy that, Freedom-6. We're going to have to split up. Two through ten, we'll stay our course towards the _Invictus_. Eleven through nineteen, I want you to jump ahead of us and intercept the first enemy offensive. Twenty through thirty-one, stay back and above two through ten and give us cover against the main enemy offensive. Thirty-two through forty-eight, I want you to fly ahead and evade, I repeat, evade the third enemy squadron. Lure them away and strike ahead behind enemy lines to checkpoint five and weaken their defenses. Hopefully we'll all rendezvous there."

Obi-Wan's team cut their way through a line of TIA's. The _Indiana Jones_ auto-targeting and rapid-fire system allowed the Jedi Master and his droid to take out multiple enemy fighters within extremely short intervals of seconds. Its flexibility allowed R2 to swerve and sway the craft in unimaginable angles to avoid being hit. Obi-Wan was thankful for his droid's expert maneuvers, but his stomach was starting to creep up his throat as a result of them. _Calm yourself, Obi-Wan. Anakin won't let a little thing called nausea affect him in a dogfight._

With a new determined resolve Obi-Wan plunged even deeper into the enemy lines, drawing a path of destruction through the swarm of Imperial fighters.

"Thank the Force for this ship R2."

A whistle from the droid.

"Don't mind the shields for now. We've got to take out as many of these guys as possible." Artoo beeped a concerned reply. "No, I don't think we're straying too far from the Squadron. I'm the leader, remember? I've got a responsibility to take point." He switched on his intercom. "Freedom squad, check in with progress please." He sounded like a general now, he thought. Tough, full of bravado, in command. Worthy of respect from any female Chandrilian Senators. _I'll show Anakin who's the ladies' man_!

"Freedom-2, this is Freedom 25. We have successfully engaged the enemy and have eliminated any possibilities of an assault from the rear flanks."

"Thanks, Mowa. I copy that."

"Freedom-2, this is Freedom 37. We have reached checkpoint five and evaded the pursuit of the TIA's."

"Copy that." Obi-Wan was slightly concerned though. Where did that enemy squadron wander off to?

"Freedom-2, this is Freedom 12," came a frantic transmission. The enemy is overwhelming us. They are arriving in staggering numbers…" The transmission was cut off.

_Poodoo_. The enemy Freedom 37 was supposed to lure away had not taken then bait and was now cutting the Freedom Squadron off from one another. "Oh well," he said to R2. "Nothing we can't handle. It's still the same number of them as before, right?" Click. Whistle. Beep. "This'll just take longer than expected."

The ship suddenly shook and the emergency lights flashed on. Artoo uttered a series of desperate noises. "The shields are gone? Crap!" Obi-Wan took over the controls to pilot the _Indiana Jones _to a relatively safer location so that R2 could try to restore the shields. There were still TIA's approaching him from all directions though. No problem.

"Artoo, lock fire on 1535 and 0433 and fire." Nothing. Artoo gave a despairing wail. "What do you mean the missile compartment is jammed?" Beep. "You can't do anything about it?"

MORE TIME IS NEEDED, replied the astromech translator. Obi-Wan noted that the TIA's certainly were not intent on giving them more time.

"Oh, I've got a bad feeling about this."

* * *

Ok, the story is slowly winding down, and the sequels are approaching. I have come up with tentative names for them and am curious to know what you think. The sequel immediately after this one would be called "Age of the Empire" and the one following that would be "The Will of the Chosen One." Thanks! 

PS. Thank you Rev for your review. I am truly flattered beyond words to know that you enjoy my story, as I absolutely love all the stories you have written. Keep up the good work!


	13. C11 The Demise of the Indiana Jones

Chapter 11-The Demise of the _Indiana Jones_

Anakin's head lay content in his wife's lap as he sat on the floor of the cockpit, both of them bathing in the afterglow of their consummation. It was moments like this that he treasured the most, when husband and wife did not need words to enjoy the depths and intricacies of their love for one another. Padme absentmindedly twirled her fingers in her husband's hair, musing over the wonders and horrors that could be created if her old handmaidens ever got their nimble hand on it. She imagined Anakin with a headdress fitting of a Nubian Queen and snorted out loud in laughter. Anakin did not notice her outburst as he was also concentrating his efforts in his own and quite hideous distraction.

"…_Jenny, I've got your number…eight six seven five three ooooh nine yeah…" _The terrible sound whose origins resonated from his throat resembled something in between the sounds a rancor and a shaak would make. It woke Padme from her stupor and she gave Anakin a harsh little slap.

"Anakin Skywalker! Who's this Jenny girl you are crooning about," she asked jealously.

"Crooning?" Anakin seemed extremely confused at this sudden interrogation.

"Singing!"

"I know what crooning means, Padme. I'm not retarded," retorted Anakin defensively. He paused to gather his memories and then looked up at Padme with an embarrassed and blushing grin. "Really? I was singing?"

"If you can call it that."

"I don't sing! I'm not the singing type."

"Anakin, would I lie to you?" Her eyes wore down his doubt.

"I guess not," he assented. "Was I good?"

"Um," she mentally stalled for time as her fingers nervously fidgeted through Anakin's hair, "what's the nicest way of saying 'no'?"

Anakin was trying to think of a witty response when C-3PO emerged into the cockpit. He bowed politely.

"Master Anakin, Mistress Padme, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but we will be emerging from hyperspace in less than a minute."

"Thanks 3PO," said Anakin as he got up and started to adjust his robes and hair. "Won't want to be scruffy looking in front of the great Senator Mon Mothma, do I?" Padme gave him a disgusted sneer.

"I'm a Senator too, you know."

"Yes angel" he replied, then paused and kissed Padme on the forehead. "But you're also my wife, and you don't appreciate my singing, I mean, _alleged_, singing abilities." Anakin walked over to his seat and buckled himself down. "Besides, you're not a Senator anymore, technically."

"Neither is Mon Mothma, _technically_."

"Oh yeah," Anakin grinned in defeat.

Just then the Royal Nubian Cruiser emerged from hyperspace and a startled Anakin barely was able to swerve the ship from crashing into a TIA fighter. He didn't have much of a respite as more Imperial fighters started to swarm around the peculiar looking new arrival.

"Holy Sith, this is interesting timing." Anakin looked around for his droid. "3PO, activate shields immediately!"

"Oh no, I hope Senator Mothma is safe."

"Of course she is. She's got your old handmaiden protecting her, remember?"

"Oh, I hope Sabe's safe."

"They all will be if we have anything to say about it," Anakin proclaimed confidently as he shot his way through the swarm of enemy fighters. As he swerved his way through the frantic space battle he caught sight of several odd looking fighters.

"It's the Freedom Squadron! That means Obi-Wan is here." He reached out mentally to his former master and Padme saw his face immediately pale. "He's in trouble!" Anakin took the com and spoke: "Freedom Squadron, this is Freedom One! Obi-Wan, if you can hear me, reply!"

"Freedom-1, good to have you here. This is Freedom-37. I'm sending you the coordinates of our attack." Anakin glanced down at the map transmitted to him on the screen. "Freedom-2 was supposed to meet up with us at checkpoint 5, but we've haven't caught sight of him yet."

"There he is!" It was Padme who saw the _Indiana Jones_, a vessel whose shape led it to stand out in the heat of a battle. Padme hadn't been sitting idly either, and she pointed out Obi-Wan's ship as she fired off several shots at the TIA's. "He's being chased by a bunch of Imperials. I wonder why he's not shooting back at them."

"Something's got to be wrong with his weapons." Anakin piloted his ship towards the _Indiana Jones _while Padme continued to shoot at the enemy.

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi continued to dodge the TIA's pursuing him, but it took every ounce of his focus to avoid the enemy fire as the _Indiana Jones_, with its flexible firepower, was not built for actual physical flexibility and maneuverability. R2 frantically tried to restore the shields but the work was coming along slower than the two of them were hoping. 

Hearing Anakin's voice on the com was a huge relief, and he thanked the Force that his old Padawan had picked just the right moment to pop in. He couldn't afford the luxury of responding to him though as it would break his concentration on piloting the ship.

R2 chirped happily when their closest pursuer was blasted to pieces by the Skywalkers. Obi-Wan himself breathed a sigh of relief and finally talked into his com.

"About time you got here, Anakin."

"What's this now, Obi-Wan, the eleventh time I've saved you?"

"Tenth. And that incident on Mustafar when you wanted to kill me ought to negate a few of the previous rescues."

Another pursuing TIA exploded. Obi-Wan saw that Anakin was positioning himself behind the squadron of Imperials chasing him and picking them off one by one.

"That's twelve. And don't forget, you intended to kill me first."

A female voice chirped in over the system. "_And_ you snuck on my ship too, _without_ my permission. Now let's leave that incident where it belongs, in the past."

"Agreed, Padme. After, we have more pressing issues here, which involves me saving your life. Why aren't you shooting back at the TIA's, by the way?"

Obi-Wan silently berated himself for being outnumbered by the Skywalkers. "My shields are down, and my weapons systems were damaged. Seriously, thank the Force you two arrived when you did."

The Nubian continue to lessen the distance and the enemies between itself and the _Indiana Jones_, but now the enemy had caught on to the new arrival and a group of TIA's came in pursuit of Anakin and Padme. Anakin did his best to evade their fire but he couldn't afford to lose his focus on Obi-Wan's predators and let them take out the undefended ship.

"Freedom Squadron, this is Freedom-1. I've got a bunch of Imps trailing me. Can anyone lend us a hand here?"

"Freedom-1, this is Freedom 20. I see you on my screen."

Anakin saw a Corellian Cruiser fly to the rescue. _That's odd_. _I don't remember one of those in the Squadron._ He identified it as the YP-1500 model. It was sleeker than most of its relatives in the YP make and had a manned rotating cannon on the bottom. _Must be a new recruit_.

The Corellian ship easily disposed of the TIA's chasing Anakin with firepower from both the cruiser's main missiles as well as the cannon. One last TIA remained however, and Freedom-20 was having trouble targeting it. Seeing this, Anakin put the Nubian in a barrel roll, to Padme's dismay and nausea. The ship spun wildly and forced the TIA to pursue an erratic course to follow its prey. Once it was within sight of the YP's cannon, two shots rang out accurately and hit their target.

"Nice shot, Wedge," shouted Freedom-20 into his intercom. "Keep it up and you'll be a captain before you know it!"

The three ships continued their course towards the _Invictus_, with Anakin and the Corellian covering Obi-Wan's _Indiana Jones_.

"Okay, R2's got the shields back up again, but he says the weapons are damaged beyond repair. The enemy fire bounced off the missile silo, saving our lives, but we've got no firepower now."

"Hmmm." Anakin studied Obi-Wan's plan of attack and he liked it. It was bold, risky, and it had a one in a million chance of succeeding had it been executed by ordinary pilots. But they weren't ordinary pilots. "Freedom Squadron report your status."

"This is Freedom-19. Most of us have already regrouped at checkpoint five. We've broken through enemy defense lines and are engaged in fire against the _Invictus._"

Obi-Wan: "Are you inflicting any significant damage?"

"We're targeting their weapons systems with success but we haven't been able to do any damage to the ship's mainframe."

"Good job, Freedom-19. Keep at it, we'll be joining you momentarily." Obi-wan switched to a private com with Anakin. "Anakin, without firepower I'm useless to this mission." He did not enjoy admitting that to his old Padawan.

"Don't despair Obi-Wan. Do you have anything of value on that old thing?"

"A few robes."

"Robes can be replaced. Besides, you need a change of wardrobe anyway. What about escape pods."

"There's a manual pod at the rear of the ship. Anakin, where are you going with this," asked Obi-Wan suspiciously.

"Well, Master, I don't think you lack firepower. On the contrary, your entire ship is basically a giant missile."

"What? You're asking me to sacrifice the _Indiana Jones_, Anakin. This is the first ship that I've actually enjoyed flying."

"The Mon Calamarians can make you another one, Obi-Wan. Besides, what about that whole no attachments rule?"

Obi-Wan was incredulous. "Oh, I don't believe this! I...you have plenty of attachments!"

"Well Master," said Anakin sheepishly, "I hate to pull this card, but I _am _Chosen One."

* * *

The Nubian flanked the Mon Calamarian, covering the empty vessel as the two ships head straight towards of the looming specter of the _Invictus_. The Corellian had departed, covering Obi-Wan and R2's escape pod on its way back to the _Protector._

Padme walked back into the cockpit, her face still pale. She sat down warily in the co-pilot's seat. "Now I know why Obi-Wan never lets you drive."

"Look out, nine o'clock," alerted Anakin and Padme fired a shot just in time to a TIA that was threatening the _Indiana Jones_. "Good shot…hey, my piloting skills saved your planet."

"Doesn't R2-D2 deserve some credit too. If it weren't for his Nubian craftsmanship I doubt that I would have a husband right now."

"Eh, R2 might've been the muscle, but I was the brains." Anakin nonchalantly pulled ahead of the _Indian Jones_ and started aiming at the cannons of the _Invictus_, now increasing in size at an exponential rate.

"How things have changed…," remarked Padme as she braced herself for impact. _I' m going to die_, she thought as the Nubian charged straight for the bridge of the _Invictus._

The impact never came.

"What's that supposed to mean," asked Anakin as he pulled up sharply at the very last minute, barely avoiding a collision with the Star Destroyer. Padme could not respond as her throat felt like it was situated closer to her bowels. Anakin seemed unaffected as he casually looked back at the _Indiana Jones_, on auto-pilot, slamming into the command center of the _Invictus. _The resulting explosion separated the bridge from the rest of the ship. "And just one step closer to saving another planet," he proclaimed proudly.

Padme did not share his joy. As soon as the ship was level she ran off, barely making it to the 'fresher.

* * *

Again, sorry about the long pause in between updates. The story is winding down (approx. 5 chapters left I'd say) and I promise that I will try to update more frequently. 


	14. C12 More to the Force

A/N: I meant to say this during my last post but forgot. I know that my characterization of Obi-Wan in chapter 10 could be controversial. I don't want him to be too out of character, but I do intend to develop him in a way that is meaningful and will carry on into the sequels. I can't say how or why; the only clue I can give is the title of the chapter (The Temptation of Obi-Wan Kenobi). The "temptation" that I speak of is NOT his crush on Mon Mothma specifically, though the crush is related to the "temptation". My point is, his thoughts and actions in this story all have a reason that will be more apparent as we get to the sequels.

* * *

Chapter 12-More to the Force 

Ghosts have always been a part of Palpatine's life. He did not know whether they were real or imagined. He did not care, either. They were real enough to him. The billions who had died violent deaths because of him, never able to find peace. Their numbers increased by the day, by the second. His father was there, looming in the shadows. His old apprentices, Maul and Dooku, their eyes staring at him with all the hatred of the Dark Side. Dead Jedi, Senators, politicians, soldiers, civilians, they all wanted a chance at revenge against the source of all their misery.

The legions of ghosts pounded at Palpatine's shroud every second of the day, trying to penetrate into his sanctuary. _Let the try_. _The further they go, the more darkness they will find_. The dark shroud of Darth Sidious was impregnable not because of its strength, but because of its darkness. Even the greatest of the Jedi were not able to see through it.

The ghosts never relented, though. Not for a moment. Sometimes it took all of Palpatine's willpower to keep his shroud up, and to keep the ghosts out. He rarely slept anymore, and when he did sleep he dreamt of the ghosts. But his shroud was darker than ever, fed by the anguish that he unleashed into the universe, living or dead. Darth Sidious was confident. The ghosts, the billions of haunted faces that would hunt him relentlessly for eternity, would never win. Their attempts to break through fed the very wall that kept them out.

Palpatine piloted his stealth cruiser towards the _Protector_. He paid scant attention to the battle going on before him. It was an insignificant event in the long run. What mattered now was the boy that was currently sleeping onboard the Alliance flagship.

He felt the presence of the Chosen One immediately, before he had even emerged from hyperspace. This was an interesting turn of events for Palpatine; he had not expected Skywalker to arrive on the scene so soon. And he had company too. A certain Senator. Darth Sidious smiled to himself as he reversed course on his ship. Yes, he would have patience. Another hour wouldn't hurt. Not in the long run. And until then, more ghosts would join the darkness outside his shroud.

* * *

She wandered through the corridors of the strange ship for what seemed like hours before she found Owen. He was sitting silently besides the closed bacta tank that held the remains of his slain father. Owen had not said a word to anyone since that night on Utapau short of a few curses aimed at the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Beru's own grief for the loss of her father-in-law was now starting to become overshadowed by concern for her husband's mental state. 

Beru carefully lowered herself by her husband and put her arms around her. She didn't make any attempts to start conversation; if Owen wanted to talk she'd let him speak first.

"The Jedi says he's one with the Force now." Owen did not bother to acknowledge Obi-Wan's name. "I don't understand how the Force could let something like this happen."

"It wasn't the Force, maybe," replied Beru tentatively. "He was killed by that Sith, who uses the Dark Side. I think that the Dark Side is different from the Force."

"It's all the same damned thing. It killed my father, it killed Shmi, and I never even knew my real mother."

"I'm still here, Owen. I'll always be here with you."

Owen held his wife tightly, still not having forgiven the forces that be.

"It's ridiculous," he finally said. "These Jedi and Sith. They fight their holy wars, and we suffer their casualties. They act like they are the only ones that matter in this galaxy. To them we're nothing more than a bunch of props."

"We're fighting for a good cause, I'd like to think. I don't want to believe that Cliegg died for no reason." Beru wanted to argue further, but her knowledge of the mystical forces was limited. She had never been much of a debater in her short life.

"Not for a reason that matters to us. You really think the Empire would care about us if it weren't for that Jedi?"

"They would if Luke was with us."

She made her point. As much as her husband despised all things Jedi, he had really taken to the boy in the past year, and like her, saw him as their own child. Beru marveled at how special Luke Skywalker was to them, how he had changed their lives; how he was both a blessing and a curse.

"The Skywalkers are back." She finally brought up the subject that was troubling her even more than Cliegg's recent death. "Owen, I don't want to give Luke back to them." Owen squeezed her shoulder in agreement. "He's as much our child as he is theirs. They weren't up during all the hours of the night taking care of him."

"He's all we have left."

Husband and wife sat with uncertainty in the small room, unsure of whether the mysterious Force was going to finally grant them some happiness, or whether it would brush them aside without even the courtesy of significance.

* * *

Anakin liked being a hero again. As he and Padme boarded the _Protector_ he treated every step he took as a lavish victory parade. Other soldiers openly gawked at the couple. The Jedi and the Senator who dared to love, the Hero With no Fear and the famed politician from Naboo, fighting on their side. The greatest pilot and warrior to ever live, who saved a planet when he was nine, who maintained the Galaxy's spirits during the Clone Wars, and the soon-to-be savior of all that is good and righteous against the dark deeds of the Empire. The beautiful Queen who had fought to protect her planet from invaders, who dared to defy and resist her fellow Nubian the Emperor, and whose mere presence assured the Alliance of the pureness of their intentions and beliefs. Few outside the inner circle of the Alliance knew of Anakin's turn, and they kept their mouths shut. It would not do wonders for morale if the fighters knew that Anakin had once served the Emperor as an apprentice, and more importantly, that the great hero was indeed human and consequently humanly vulnerable. 

As the procession made its way to the bridge of the ship they found themselves before the de facto leaders of the rebellion, the former Senator Mon Mothma, the courageous and pure-hearted political leader, and the great General Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was a hero from the Clone Wars with extraordinary powers, but more importantly, he was the best friend of Anakin Skywalker. His greatness came from his association with his friend.

Padme greeted her fellow Senator with quiet reserve. Though she respected Senator Mothma for her conviction and beliefs, the two of them had never had more than a professional relationship. Padme personally found her disquieting; Mothma's often cold demeanor reminded her of herself before she met Anakin again, a part of her life and personality that had gone the way of the Old Republic.

A much warmer hug she had saved for her dear old friend Sabe, standing at Mon Mothma's side. She had been concerned for her former handmaiden and decoy in the days following her abdication of the throne; Sabe had lingered from place to place without a cause, and Padme was proud to see that she had finally found a worthy direction for her life.

Master and Padawan approached each other cautiously. Obi-Wan was the first to extend his arms.

"Welcome to the war, Padawan," he said as he hugged his friend. "You picked just the right time to join it."

"I'm picking the right time to win it, Master," Anakin said cockily as he withdrew from the embrace.

"Still with the arrogance, Anakin." The two of them began to saunter away from the politicians gathered in the center of the room.

"This time the arrogance comes with wisdom and vision."

"Really? Are you sure that your newfound wisdom isn't the taint of the Dark Side." Obi-Wan still remembered Anakin boasting about his newfound powers on a planet named Mustafar.

Anakin looked at his mentor with what almost looked like pity. "Someday, Master, you will learn that there is more to the Force than just the Jedi."

Obi-Wan wanted to object, but he noted with curiosity the way Anakin had spoken. His voice lacked any rebelliousness, but instead was brimming with certainly and resolve.

Seeing Obi-Wan speechless, Anakin continued: "You know, beneath these Jedi and Sith veneers, we are all humans and sentient beings."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I remember Qui-Gon telling me something like that. He was lecturing about the living force, I think."

Anakin was about to tell him about his recent encounter with Qui-Gon but he decided against it. He suspected Obi-Wan might still resent the fact that the Jedi spirit had visited Anakin and not him. "He was wiser than us all, in my opinion. If only we had heeded his words earlier."

It was unintentional, but that comment struck a blow to Obi-Wan. Memories of the duel on Naboo replayed itself. Obi-Wan wondered where he went wrong in the years afterwards and marveled at how despite his mistakes and failures in training Anakin, looking at him now was a startling reminder of his old Master. Anakin had always been a maverick, but now his unorthodox views were truly accompanied by knowledge and a maturity that Obi-Wan himself wondered if he would ever achieve.

Anakin sensed the discomfort in Obi-Wan and decided to change the subject. "Sidious has found another apprentice. I just faced him on Korriban."

"I know. Padawan Grello. He attacked our base on Utapau. He killed Cliegg Lars."

An eerie feeling all too familiar to him bit at the heels of Anakin's soul. He kicked it away. "How are Owen and Beru doing?"

"Owen: hostile. Beru follows her husband's lead. Neither one of them has spoken a word to me since the attack."

"I will see to it that he is honored for his sacrifice," Anakin said with determination. He then realized another facet of this new revelation. "How did they know you were on Utapau?"

"I am to blame for that, I'm afraid. Our escape from Tatooine was all too easy. I don't know how, but the Empire let us go on purpose and then somehow tracked us to the base on Utapau. Apparently the Emperor sent Grello to find your son." Obi-Wan looked Anakin in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Anakin. I let you down."

Anakin fought the fear and anger that was starting to broil in his heart and won the battle for the moment. "It wasn't your fault, Obi-Wan. You did the best you could. Besides, that's in the past. We have plenty of problems we have to focus on right now." Anakin turned and walked towards Padme. Obi-Wan followed him step for step.

Padme saw her husband approached and eagerly ran towards him. "Anakin, I was just going to look for you. Let's visit Luke. We haven't seen him in a year now, you know." She was surprised that Anakin did not share her excitement. The gleeful war hero from just a few minutes ago had disappeared. She soon learned why.

"Padme, we need to get you and Luke out of here. They attacked Utapau and tried to take Luke. They know he's alive."

"I believe the safest place for you and your son would be Dagobah," interjected Obi-Wan. "Master Yoda will be able to protect you if it comes to that, but I doubt that the Emperor will know of your location. Like Korriban, it is a planet of darkness. Thus the perfect place for you to hide."

Padme didn't particularly like the idea. She had just come out of hiding, and now she had to do so again. The end of this whole conflict had seemed so close when they had left Korriban. Perhaps it still was, but perhaps both her and Anakin were fooling themselves by underestimating Palpatine. "Anakin, I don't want to hide again. And I don't need to. You're here. I know you will protect me." She drew him aside to shield their conversation from the other people in the room.

"I'm afraid I can't promise that. I will have to fight in this battle. What if I die?"

"Anakin, you won't."

"But I could. Either way, there is a chance that we could lose this battle. If you stay on this ship, you and Luke might be killed. And I can't even imagine what would happen if Palpatine knows that Luke's here." Seeing his wife's hesitation he added, "I'm sure Obi-Wan would be able to take good care of you."

Upon hearing his name Obi-Wan interrupted the couple. "Anakin, I'm not sure if I can accompany your family to Dagobah. I, like you, have a duty to fight here in this battle."

"No, that is unacceptable." The anger was back. All of his emotions centered around his family now, and he would not let any harm come to them. "Obi-Wan, if you don't go with them, then I will."

"But we need you here," pleaded Obi-Wan. It was surprising to him how Anakin's mood could shift by the second with barely any transition from wise sage to stubborn child.

Anakin sensed his master's thoughts. "You're wrong. I'm not a child. I'm a husband and a father, and my family needs you. I can't send Padme and Luke out there by themselves. They'll be helpless."

Padme interrupted both of them. "Look, I'm sure I can take care of myself. After all, it's just a trip through hyperspace, right? And once I arrive on Dagobah Master Yoda would be able to protect me." Anakin didn't get a chance to say a word as Obi-Wan finally came up with a compromise.

"Anakin, remember F'ibo Jek?"

Anakin searched his memories. F'ibo was a T'wilek, a recently knighted Jedi during the last days of the Clone Wars. Anakin had not known her well, but she had a good reputation as a warrior. She had been involved in the battle at Rodia when Order 66 had been issued. "Yes, I do. What about her?"

"She survived the Purge, barely. Apparently the Alliance just recently found her clinging to life on one of Rodia's moons. I just found this out." Obi-Wan remembered how relieved he had been, knowing that he was no longer the last of the Jedi. "She's recovered since then and is here fighting with the rest of us. I can ask her to escort Luke and Padme. You've sparred with her before, right?"

"Yes I have." Anakin recalled that she had surprisingly feisty and he had to work harder than usual to dispatch of her. He knew where Obi-Wan was going with this train of thought and looked at Padme. She gave him her approval with her eyes.

"I'm sure she will take good care of your family," continued Obi-Wan, oblivious to the silent exchange between the two. "They will be safe, unless the Emperor himself goes after them, of course."

* * *

Thank you to all who have read this far. I hope you are enjoying this story. As this episode is winding down I am going to share with you a few previews/teasers that will be in the aforementioned sequels: 

...Anakin faces an entire droid army by himself on the Icy planet of Hoth...  
...The second and final Jedi Purge...  
...The Death Star looming menacingly over the planet of Naboo...  
...and the final duel that will determine the fate of the Galaxy...


	15. C13 Victory and Loss

Again, thank you so much for your kind reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's quite long.

* * *

Chapter 13-Victory and Loss

The family strolled through the corridors of the starship as slowly as possible, trying to delay their inevitable parting as long as they could. Padme had her son propped up on her shoulder while Anakin fiddled around with his hand, playing a little game of arm wrestling with the bubbly-eyed boy.

"He's definitely grown. I can barely hold him up anymore."

"I can't believe how strong in the Force he is. I felt his presence the moment we exited hyperspace."

"Is he going to be a Jedi, Anakin," Padme asked apprehensively. For a moment she saw a defiant glare in her husband's blue eyes.

"That will be up to his parents," he finally asserted. "And it will be up to him."

"If only Leia were here. Our little family would be complete." Padme sighed longingly, wondering if she could ever lead a normal life.

"Leia's better off than any of us. Force knows how the Organas are spoiling her in that royal estate of theirs." Anakin had never been to Alderaan, but he imagined a palace as grand as the one in Theed.

"I wonder of she will remember us, after so long."

"Luke did," assured Anakin. At the mention of his name Luke turned his head to look at his father. Blue met blue, and Luke reached his arms out to his father. Padme handed the baby to him. "Our children are strong in the Force, Padme. They will always recognize their mother and father are."

"I hope the Organas don't get too attached to our daughter though," mused Padme, thinking back to the awkward situation from only minutes earlier. They didn't speak their thoughts out loud, but it was obvious that Owen and Beru were resentful towards Luke's real parents despite the kind words offered by Anakin concerning Cliegg. Anakin had sensed their discomfort though, and had suggested that they accompany Luke and Padme to Dagobah. Owen nodded his head with more reluctance than he actually felt, and Anakin knew that the crisis had been temporarily diffused.

They were met at the end of the hallway by Obi-Wan and two other companions. One was a lanky dark-haired young man that Anakin guessed to be about his age, if not a few years younger. Accompanying him was a little boy of about nine years old, crouching timidly behind Obi-Wan and the other man.

"Anakin! Let me introduce you to the pilot who saved both our behinds."

Handing Luke back to his wife, Anakin walked up cordially to the man and shook his hand. "You must be Freedom 20 then. I'm assuming you're new to the squadron."

"Just joined two months ago. I'm Shane Antilles, flew with the Corellia Volunteer Fleet until the Empire disbanded it and took our ships." He looked back and motioned for the kid, who hesitantly stepped forward. "This little creature's my brother Wedge. He runs the cannons on our ship and blew up a mighty number of TIA's today." Shane's eyes sparkled with pride. "We're both honored to meet the two of you."

"The honor's mine," said Anakin. He instantly developed a fondness for the Antilles brothers. Shane's eagerness reminded Anakin of the days when he was a headstrong Padawan looking to take on the Galaxy, and young Wedge's skills in combat brought Anakin pleasant memories of his own childhood piloting exploits.

"You've heard of Anakin Skywalker, right Wedge?" Wedge nodded his head at his older brother. "That's right, he's the greatest pilot in the galaxy."

Anakin laughed wholeheartedly. "I'd be lying if I say that your brother's exaggerating, but I'm sure someday you're going to rival me in your skills."

"Thank you sir," muttered the shy Wedge with complete awe.

"Let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife, the incomparable Senator from Naboo Padme Naberrie Amidala."

"Skywalker," added Padme as she stepped up. Anakin beamed with pride.

"And this little toddler's our son Luke." Anakin looked back down at Wedge again. "When he's old enough, I'd be honored for you to teach him how to fly."

Wedge nodded eagerly again, but his attention was elsewhere now. His eyes were completely transfixed on Padme, who gave Anakin a knowing grin.

Obi-Wan finally stepped into the friendly exchange. "I'm glad you're all getting along, Anakin. Captain Antilles and his brother will escort your family in their ship until they reach hyperspace."

"I wouldn't trust anyone else other this Master Jedi himself."

"We won't let you down, General Skywalker." Shane's voice boomed with certain confidence.

* * *

"General Skywalker," said Padme when they were alone again. "I'd never thought I would live to see the day."

Anakin chuckled in response and tried to put on his best mask of humility. "Well, honestly, I don't believe ranks mean much when you're a rebel." He said the last word softly. Anakin still had trouble labeling himself as a rebel. It had a negative connotation to it in his mind. He was fighting on the right side. He knew that and it was comfort enough for him.

"I think the little one had a crush on you, Padme. Was I that cute when I first met you all those years ago?"

"Cuter," whispered Padme, but she wanted to wipe the devious grin off her husband's face. "But not by much. I do remember the last time a boy looked at me like that. You better treat me right, General Skywalker, or you're going to have some serious competition in ten years or so."

"Oh, if you _even dare_," said Anakin with mock anger, "I will have no choice to go after your old handmaidens. I wonder if Sabe will still be single then? Maybe Eirtae? I've always had a thing for blondes. Of course if I wanted to try my luck with a married woman, I can always go after Rabe."

Padme shot fire from brown eyes towards her husband but held back the urge to punch him in his lower regions. She had started that course of conversation, and besides, it wouldn't be good for Luke to witness such domestic violence at such a young age.

"Alright, enough of this. I don't want to spend our last minutes together speculating on extramarital affairs."

"Hey, you started it."

"Right, and I'm ending it. You're pretty good with kids," she said changing the subject. "I remember how my nieces loved you back in Naboo. You're going to be a great father to our children, I know that." She snuggled closely into her husband's arms. "Promise me that you'll stay alive till then. Promise me that this won't be the last time I see you."

"I promise. You promise the same."

"I do." Padme found that leaving Anakin's arms was the hardest she had ever had to do. After a year together she could not imagine even a second without him. They had been there for each other through the darkest of times in the darkest of places. Now, only one final task remained and they could be a normal family for once. Forever, she hoped.

"It's time," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you, Anakin. Stay alive."

"Your wish is my command, milady. I love you too. Take good care of our son." Anakin did not try to hold back his tears as he watched his wife and son walk away from him, Padme looking back with a furtive glance towards him every few steps. Luke seemed to naturally sense the mood as he was sniffling a bit, but amazingly he was more composed than either one of his parents.

"May the Force be with you," Anakin said quietly under his breath as they disappeared from view.

* * *

"So what's your plan for winning the battle, Padawan?" Obi-Wan and Anakin mere minutes from briefing the Freedom Squadron on their next mission. Only six of the forty-seven pilots perished in the previous skirmish, whose success led Senator Mothma to give them free rein over their ensuing missions and strategy.

"Well, remember what we did with the _Invictus?_" Anakin had a mischievous look in his eye, and Obi-Wan didn't like it one bit.

"You don't expect us to pull something like that off again, do you? They'll be expecting it!"

"And therein lies the inherent brilliance of my plan, Master."

"How did you learn to talk like that?" The once skeptical Obi-Wan was puzzled as to where his old Padawan learned such vocabulary. Definitely not from the grammar classes he had tried to shove into his hard head for ten long years.

"Spend a year with a Senator, Obi-Wan, and you pick some things up."

* * *

Aboard the Super Destroyer _Executer_ Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin frowned as he studied the holoprojection of the battle. He still struggled to reconcile the fact that a small rebel counterattack had crippled the offensive abilities of the _Invictus_. One pilot, he thought. One was all it took. Tarkin walked up to the window of the bridge and suddenly felt a lot more vulnerable than he preferred to.

A subordinate officer approached him nervously.

"Admiral Tarkin, the same squadron that attacked the _Invictus_ is launching an offensive against us. They are fighting through our defenses with much success."

"Incompetence," he spat out with complete contempt. "Pure incompetence. I find it ridiculous that the great Imperial Navy cannot defeat a ragtag group of pilots." He examined the holomap again. "So the rebel group is ignoring the _Hemmler_," referring to the other Star Destroyer that along with the _Executor_ was quickly advancing towards the bulk of the rebel fleet.

"It seems that their target is us, sir. Intercepted communications indicate that the two leaders of the squadron are escorting an unmanned vessel. They would like to perform a repeat of the _Invictus_."

"The fools. Could they possibly believe that one ship can immobilize a Super Star Destroyer." Tarkin pondered the situation in his head. He held the upper hand now, and if he could get rid of this pesky Freedom Squadron the Battle of Chandrilla would be all but over. All he needed to do was cut them off at the head. That presented him another tempting concept. Tarkin had heard rumors that the squadron was led by two former Jedi Knights. Such a bounty would make a perfect dowry that will regain him the favor of his Emperor.

"Fortify defenses around this bridge. They must not get through."

"Yes sir."

"And launch a counterattack against this so-called Freedom Squadron. I want their leaders cut off. Lead them on a pursuit towards the side of the ship, and turn on the tractor beam."

"Yes sir." Captain Dantua was more than relieved. His turn as the bearer of bad news was almost over, and he, unlike many of his colleagues, had not yet been slated for immediate execution.

"By the way, Captain," remarked Tarkin in a casual manner, "make certain that both pilots are alive and held captive on this ship, or your death will accompany theirs."

* * *

"Anakin! You almost got me killed back there." The two Alliance T-Fighters swirled through the swarms of TIA's.

"Had to protect the bait, Master. Besides, I'm helping you learn how to take care of yourself."

"Ha." Obi-Wan's fighter flew on Anakin's right side with an unarmed vessel in between the two. Their path towards the bridge of the _Executor _had been cut off moments ago.

"Aren't you enjoying this? It reminds me of old times."

"Yes quite. In fact, last time we did something like this, we saved the life of a Sith Master from the clutches of his own apprentice."

"Point taken." Static. "In other words, we completed our mission, which the Jedi Council sent us on."

"Point taken."

They were closer to the Star Destroyer now, which mean they had to avoid the blast cannons from its surface as well as the infinite numbers of clone piloted fighters. Anakin sped ahead as he engaged offensively against the enemy, meeting with little resistance. He pulled up as if to re-engage a course towards the command center of the battleship and encountered numerous volleys of cannon fire. Anakin dodged them and pulled back into position besides Obi-Wan, who had already lost control of his craft.

"They've got the tractor beam on. I'm being pulled in."

"Ah, even better for us. This time we won't have to depend on nonexistent escape pods."

"Oh, by the way Anakin, remember that General Grievous, the one who released all those pods on the _Hand_?"

"Vividly. Unfortunately I still remember his odor, too."

"Well, I'm not sure if I got to tell you this, with the whole Jedi Purge happening and all, but I did manage to personally get rid of him on Utapau."

"Oh, good job. I knew you had it in you, Master."

Hundreds of blasters were pointed at them the moment the three fighters docked onto the Star Destroyers. One of the clone captains spoke out with a voice projector.

"You are surrounded and outnumbered. Come out unarmed and you will not be harmed. The Empire grants a fair trial to all enemy combatants."

"What do you say, Obi-Wan," asked Anakin into his com. "Now's a good time?"

"As good as any."

"Let's roll." Anakin pressed a button on the remote detonator in his hand and braced for impact. The explosives packed into the unmanned fighter shook the two Jedi's fighters and blew away the exposed clone troopers outside. Anakin and Obi-Wan immediately ejected out of their vessels and ignited their lightsabers as they surveyed the wreckage. The smoke from the explosion clouded the vision of the clones, not that they stood a chance from the very beginning. Their lightning quick reflexes took the two men quickly to all corners of the room as they deflected any blaster shots. Soon they were the only ones alive in the room.

"Okay," said Obi-Wan, gathering his thoughts. "Now we fight together."

"Agreed. We'll head straight to the target. And no patience this time. Let's rush things."

The two warriors fought their way through the ship, sprinting at full speed the entire time. The narrow corridors and their pure speed prevented the clones from surrounding and overwhelming them. Their officers never saw more than two blinding flashes of lights before their troops were cut down. The smarter ones fled in panic. The valiant ones lost limbs and lives.

"You know who we forgot," remarked Anakin as he jumped over a line of clones. He kicked several in the chest as he landed and started slashing around himself in circles, cutting down the troopers in the midst of their numbers. "Artoo's still on the _Protector_."

"Oh yeah." Obi-Wan cut down the troops between him and Anakin and the two of them proceeded to an elevator. "Do you think we needed him on this one?"

"Yeah, I just realized that he would've been very useful."

"Too late now." The two were standing still now, waiting for the elevator to reach its destination. Anakin began fidgeting his fingers through his hair.

"Do you have to do that," asked Obi-Wan feigning annoyance.

"What?"

"The hair thing." He pointed at Anakin's head for good measure.

"Oh. Why do you care?"

"I don't know. It makes me feel uneasy."

"Huh. Where have I heard that before?" Before Anakin could answer his own question the doors slid open. Lightsabers re-ignited and the break was over.

The upper levels featured less clones among the soldiers as more of the fighters were recent graduates of the Imperial Military Academy. Anakin felt some qualms over killing such beings, but war was war and he didn't have a choice. It was his responsibility to end this war once and for all and bring peace back to the Galaxy. A real peace, not one of the tyrannical Sith. If that meant sacrificing courageous men who just happened to have been fighting on the wrong side, then so be it.

There was no stopping the ultimate team. Both men fought as one object, guided completely by the Force. Anakin reached with his mind through the labyrinth of the Destroyer. When he found the bridge of the vessel he let go of his thoughts entirely and focused on letting the Force guide him on a one-way path towards his destination. Through their mental bond Obi-Wan felt the same nudges from the Force. Their running, their jumping, and their hacking were no longer conscious actions. It didn't matter what odds were stacked up against them. They were agents of the Force itself. They were unstoppable.

The _Executor _was in a state of panicked emergency now. Waves after waves of reinforcements sent to stop them were to no avail. High ranking officers joined the fight themselves only to be cut down as quickly as their brute infantry. Soon chaos reigned over the Imperial hierarchy. Without orders anymore, the clone troopers not engaged in combat against the two Jedi stood still at their posts. The more sentient fighters fled to safe-rooms and locked the doors, hoping the Jedi were not on an extermination spree.

When they finally reached their goal, Anakin found that the door to the bridge was locked. "They must be sealing themselves in there," he said to Obi-Wan. "Artoo would be useful right about now. He can hack into the computers and open the doors for us."

"Or we can do it the traditional way," advised Obi-Wan. "Shortcuts aren't the only route, my Padawan." Only stuck his lightsaber into the door and started cutting a circle through the steel.

"Ah, forgot about that. Lesson learned." Anakin followed his lead and started cutting the other half of their entrance. Soon their task was completed.

Anakin immediately felt another presence. _It's a trap_, he said to Obi-Wan mentally.

_I know, I feel it too_.

With the Force, Anakin shoved the man hiding behind one of the computer frames onto the wall. He heard a back break and saw a blaster drop onto the floor.

_Quite a pathetic trap, if you ask me._

_Anakin, be careful. Such methods are of the Dark Side._

_Dogma doesn't concern me anymore, Obi-Wan. I do what is necessary._

Anakin approached the man. He groaned on the floor with a defiant glare at the intruders. "What is your name?" There was no answer. "Ok then, I'll get straight to the point. What are the passkeys to access this ship's computer?"

The man spat at Anakin, but the saliva never reached him. With a gesture of his hand, the spit went flying back into the spitter's eye. "Strike one," Anakin said, and without warning he used the full weight of the Force to probe into the man's mind. It took only took mere seconds, but Anakin immediately knew Wilhuff Tarkin's complete life story.

To Obi-Wan's continuing surprise Anakin filled with rage as he lifted Tarkin's body up into the air, his paralyzed legs dangling limply in the air. Anakin stared into the Admiral's eyes.

"Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin, you do not deserve half a second of decency in this life or whatever follows. For your crimes I sentence you to death." Anakin plunged his lightsaber through the suspended body and let go with the Force, dumping it unceremoniously onto the floor.

Obi-Wan stood still in shock. "Anakin, why did you do that? And, what I felt you did, how did you probe into his mind so…so ruthlessly?"

Anakin's response was cold and unmoving. "One of the techniques I learned on Korriban. I use them, but just because I do doesn't mean I serve the Dark Side." Anakin turned and walked to the _Executor's _main control panels. "I found out what I needed to know, and I found out about a man who deserved to die."

As he entered several codes and entries into the computer he continued: "He was the one who attack you and Luke on Tatooine and tracked you to Utapau. He was responsible for the attacks on Zonoma Sekot. He has committed countless massacres and atrocities, and would have continued to do so had he lived. One day he would have been a destroyer of entire planets."

"Perhaps, but it is not your place to condemn him."

"It wouldn't have mattered. He would have died anyway by the time we are done." The computer beeped. "Which we are."

Obi-Wan shrugged in defeat. He still needed to have a serious talk with his old Padawan sometime, but the current timing did not do much for conversation. Retracing their steps it took only minutes to get back to their ships. Resistance was much lighter without anyone giving orders, and soon Obi-Wan and Anakin were back flying through the freedom of space.

It was not much longer after when the sharp tip of the _Executor_, following expertly encoded and un-overwritable programming in its navigational controls, led itself through space until it collided and stabbed into the mainframe of the _Hemmler_. The result was equivalent to a massive earthquake on both destroyers. Explosions filled the vacuum of space as the Super Star Destroyer continued its course, cutting a hole through the middle of its smaller counterpart. Rocked by the thunderous impart both ships began falling into pieces.

* * *

There was no conversation on the small freighter that carried the Skywalker and Lars families. Padme held Luke in her lap as she sat at the front of the ship manning the controls. Owen helped Beru in the kitchen as she prepared some simple stews and broth. F'ibo Jek meditated on the floor of the storage compartments, resenting the mission she had been sent on. It seemed sacrilegious for her to be safeguarding the wife and child of a wayward Jedi rather than actively fighting the evils of the Sith Empire.

The trip into hyperspace had been uneventful. The freighter sneaked away from the _Protector_ escorted by a Corellian vessel under the command of Captain Shane Antilles and his little brother Wedge. Once the freighter entered hyperspace the brothers flew back and rejoined the Battle of Chandrila just in time to see the mighty Star Destroyers of the Imperial Fleet literally rip each other apart. Nobody sensed a void in the Force following the refugee ship. Nobody felt that void reach across the dead of space until it found the hyperdrive of the freighter.

Padme was surprised when they exited hyperspace prematurely. She consulted the maps and found that they were not even a quarter of the way to Dagobah yet. The ship's computer informed her that their hyperdrive had been leaking. The nearest planet was Kuat, and Padme decided to land on a mech station on one of its moons. Darth Sidious's stealth craft did never appeared on the radar as it followed them into the station.

The shadow left his vehicle and approached the freighter at a surprisingly fast pace. F'ibo had sensed that something was wrong the moment they exited hyperspace, but she could not pinpoint any reasons. It was not until she stepped off the ship when she finally felt the presence of the Sith Master in the form of waves and waves of Sith lightning.

Darth Sidious did not relent, channeling all his hatred towards the young Jedi Knight. He had not personally killed one of them since throwing the Master Mace Windu out of the window of his office. Sidious savored every bit of her pain until F'ibo's soul melted away along with her flesh. When his work was finished, Sidious entered the ship. The dead Jedi had joined his haunters, he felt with malicious glee, and would find nothing but darkness for all eternity.

There were four people on the freighter. Two of them mattered. The others were worthless pieces of galactic dust. Sidious brushed the dust away as he passed through the kitchen. Even as Owen and Beru's bodies crashed into the wall with ferocious velocity Palpatine felt no satisfaction with his kills. They were insignificant compared to the two prizes that lay waiting in the cockpit.

Luke was crying furiously as Padme plotted the ship's navigational controls for the journey following the repair. She stopped to comfort her child when she heard violent noises coming from the kitchen. Before she could react a dark robed figure stepped into the room. The fear was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Padme clutched her son to her chest tightly and stared back at the Emperor with raging defiance.

"Padme Amidala, the Senate has missed your faithful attendance." His voice sounded like death itself.

"What do you want from me?" Padme did not bother to play any games with Palpatine.

To her horror her son was ripped away from her arms by an unseen wind and floated treacherously towards the shadow in front of her. The shadow spoke: "My next apprentice."

Then darkness surrounded her as the lightning poured out of Darth Sidious's hands.


	16. C14 The Road to Coruscant

Chapter 14-The Road to Coruscant 

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" He felt her pain as easily as if it were his own. For the seconds that it persisted it was a relentless, tormenting, and eternal darkness. Still in the middle of his briefing to Senator Mothma, he collapsed and crumpled onto the floor. By the time Obi-Wan knelt beside him his tears were unfiltered. He felt her pain, and it was worse than any pain he would ever feel from himself.

"He took her. He took her from me," Anakin mumbled on the floor.

_It is your choice_, a sinister voice echoed in his mind. _The fate of Padme's life is up to you._

Obi-Wan did not need an explanation; he knew only one thing could stab his friend's heart so deeply as to render his friend with such despair and pain.

"I'm sorry," he said in a conciliatory way.

"Sorry? Sorry? Sorry doesn't bring Padme back, Obi-Wan." There was nothing but rage in Anakin now as he pulled himself up. Everyone in the room with the exception of Obi-Wan backed away warily from him. Violent vibes radiated from his heart in every direction, attacking and savaging the senses even of those who were not sensitive to the Force. It took all of his self-control not to reign bloody and random destruction, to end his entire miserable existence right there on the spot, damn the bystanders.

Maintaining his upright stance was every much a weary task as maintaining his fragile state of mind. Slowly rationale returned. _Padme_, he realized,_ she's still alive_. _I can't help her if I can't even help myself_. Regaining his composure took more concentration than even his deepest meditations. He struggled with the conflicting and tempestual forces swirling around him. The problem was not his access or grasp of the Force; it was that the whirlwinds of the Force itself were overloading his abilities to contain it. He grappled with the very concept of the Force in all its lightness and darkness.

Anakin tried to attune himself to the Living Force. It was this empathy that allowed him to feel Padme's pain. It was that pain that urged him to inflict pain upon all that surrounded him.

Pain. Pain was his catalyst. His own pain. His wife's pain. His mentor's pain. He felt that too. He felt Obi-Wan's anguish, his grief for Anakin, his guilt. Anakin hated him for losing Padme. It was his fault. He had not covered his tracks well enough. He had not provided her with ample protection. But Anakin felt Obi-Wan's pain too, the pain of letting down a friend. Did he truly want to inflict more pain upon him? What would it really accomplish?

Pain. Pain was his grace. Pain was his skill. Pain was his cause. Pain was his meaning. Pain became Anakin Skywalker, and pain could have never found a more able embodiment. Did he really need a logical and rational reason to inflict pain? If Palpatine could cause so much pain in a woman so beautiful, so pure, so perfect, then was there any virtue or chivalry left in the galaxy? The threshold for reason had been crossed when pain had been inflicted upon the innocent. That was his permission now. If Padme was in pain, no one else in the galaxy deserved to be spared. It was his job now, his duty. He would be the Force. He would be the avenger. He would spread her pain, his pain. He would force everyone in the galaxy to feel it, starting with the poor souls on the ship. Starting with Obi-Wan.

And where would the pain go? Where would it end? The Unifying Force spoke to Anakin, and he caught a glimpse of a dark vision. He was a horrible creature, part man, part machine, all Vader. And Vader was inflicting pain. He was torturing, and the object of his meager attention was a beautiful woman with chocolate brown hair and a flowing white robe that seemed to glow like a fragile flower in the dark room. The room was small, cold, and bare. She screamed in pain. And did Vader enjoy inflicting that pain? Hardly. He was indifferent. He saw only an object. A means to an end. What had originally began as his own empathy had cut off his very connection with the Living Force. The girl was in pain. The beautiful girl. The innocent girl, so pure in her ideals. Just like Padme. Now Anakin felt the pain of realization. His indifference had blinded him. He didn't even see, or rather, he couldn't even feel his own daughter. Padme's daughter. The threshold had been crossed once again.

_Leia_.

Pain. Pain was his curse. Pain was his virtue. He needed to escape. They needed to escape. From him. His open eyes finally gained sight of his actual surroundings again. The generals, the politicians, the aides, the single Jedi Master, they had all been caught in his transfixing state. He realized that not a word had been spoken since he last hurled his accusations at his old master. Anakin would never know how much time actually transpired between those sentences.

"Set the coordinates," he ordered. "We will go to Coruscant." These statements were the polar opposites of their predecessors. They were spoken without emotion, without tone. And yet they were the exact duplicates of their predecessors in that both were born out of extreme pain. The former ones revealed the pain in all its glory, the latter did all that it could do to conceal it.

* * *

It seemed to him that his whole life the past year had been a race. He had shuffled from planet to planet, gathering the remaining Jedi. He played the political game with his own life on the table as he recruited his fellow Senators into a deadly trap that could consume them all. In the final legs of the race it had been his cause to diffuse the trap. To reveal the trap for what it was. A trap that had been in the making for decades. A trap that had already been sprung. Now, as he approached the finish line, Bail Organa prayed to anyone and no one in particular that the race was not already lost.

He had all the evidence he needed. More than enough evidence to convince even the most spineless of Palpatine supporters of their Emperor's evil and duplicity. The transmissions between Darth Sidious and the Separatist Leaders that originated in Palpatine's office were damning enough, but the real gem was a holo-recording he found from a moon of Yavin.

For a man who rarely left Coruscant during his term as Supreme Chancellor, Bail had found it extremely interesting that the only official record of any trip Palpatine made off planet was to Yavin IV. He spent a week there, about a year before the beginning of the Clone Wares, dedicating an indigenous temple as a historic site of the Republic. Further inquiries found the revelation that the temple had a history of the Dark Side and was locally rumored to be haunted by long dead Sith Lords. Bail had shrugged off the creepy feelings he felt as he walked through the temple and to his delight discovered a holo-recorder hidden in the corner of one of its main chambers.

Apparently the Kun Temple, as the locals called it, was a haven for many young derelicts who found their identities as occult worshippers. As he played the recordings on his journey through hyperspace, Bail listened halfheartedly as some fool documented his group's attempts to resurrect some ancient spirit from beyond the grave. What really perked Bail's interest was the timing of the recording. The cult group's pathetic ceremonies were cut short with the arrival of the Supreme Chancellor and a small entourage of Senators. Bail watched the dedication ceremony as Palpatine gave a short and formal speech about the Temple's roles in the ancient wars of the Republic.

The recorder went into hibernation as activity in the chamber ceased, but was reactivated two days later by the motion of two figures walking into the main chamber. Bail Organa was not surprised to see two men in dark hoods. One of them lowered his hood as he talked to the other. Dooku. The other one Organa knew enough to be a mysterious Dark Lord of the Sith named Darth Sidious. After a short conversation, the two men sat down on the cold floor of the temple in meditative positions. Sidious himself finally lowered his hood. Auspiciously the two men faced the recorder, and Bail was not surprised to see the face of Palpatine under the hood of the Sith Master.

He had all the evidence he needed now and he would present it to the Senate. What the Senate did with the evidence, however, was beyond his control. With the Senate lacking true power under Sidious, Bail realized he may as well be giving his life to only discredit the Emperor in the eyes of his powerless lackeys. He hoped that this foundation would help factor in the ultimate showdown between Palpatine and the Jedi, and that should his friends succeed, any government that followed would recognize the evil of the Emperor.

Time was running out as Bail's cruiser raced through space towards Coruscant. The Emperor had, to his dismay, temporarily disbanded the Senate. Bail knew enough to understand that the word temporary under the Empire could be defined as forever. The Emperor had called for one final meeting of the Senate, and that meeting, which Bail prayed that he would make on time, would be his last chance to present the evidence that he had so painstakingly uncovered.

* * *

Padme awoke from a nightmare only to find herself living in it. The room was pitch black. She lay crumpled on the floor, she knew. As she gathered herself up, she felt the chilling specter of something darker than the darkness moving. There was something else in the room. Something that was darker than the pitch black itself.

An old-fashioned Nubian wax candle lit itself in a corner, and its weak light spread to her eyes. She saw the shadow across from her in the room. It sat opposite her, staring through her into oblivion.

"Senator Amidala of Naboo," croaked the shadow. "Do you like this candle? One rarely sees such an antiquity these days, but did you know that they were quite common in the Dark Ages of Naboo? Kings and nobles conducted inquisitions against their rivals in the candlelight."

Padme barely heard the history lesson that Palpatine offered. As she stared at the shadow of a man she couldn't begin to grasp the level of hatred she felt towards him.

"You." That was the only word that she could muster out. It had been easy to reasonably oppose such a man in the abstract. Now that he was here in her presence, with the full knowledge of his betrayal, it was impossible for Padme to control her hatred for the _thing_. He wasn't a man, she told himself. He didn't deserve to be classified as a living, sentient being. The man who betrayed the Republic, who betrayed his own planet and hers. The man who betrayed her husband, who tried to turn him into a monster. Who succeeded in that task.

"You," she repeated again and again with all the venom her soul could offer. She damned him to the worst hells imaginable. She damned his accomplices, his supporters, his lackeys, his pawns, those who brought him to power, those who continued to support him. She cursed and damned them all in her mind, even if that list had included herself.

"I am impressed by your hatred, Senator." The shadow got up and floated across the room. "Perhaps in another life you would've have been a powerful Sith Lord in your own right."

"You, you are an abomination." Padme wished a million deaths upon the thing standing before her. She stood up and faced him defiantly. Surprisingly he did not strike her down in any fashion.

"My dear, naïve, Padme. I am merely a reflection of the Galaxy." His mention of her name sent chills down her spine.

"No, you are evil. You don't deserve to live in this galaxy." It was her galaxy, Padme told herself. The galaxy she had worked so hard to protect, to preserve. The galaxy she had devoted her life to. Destroyed in a single stroke by the bottomless pit of a despot. Or was it a million small strokes, many of them authored by herself?

"I am but merely one man, Senator. Aren't we Nubians people of the arts?" He seemed to stress the fact that Sidious and Padme were natives of the same planet. "Consider me an artist then, if you will. A sculptor. It is my calling in life that I am to create, to mold great sculptures, according to my visions of what art is. But I can only mold with the clay that is given to me, Senator."

Sidious flicked his hand and the steel covers on the wall receded to expose the majestic view of Coruscant floating in space. Staring at it, Padme felt sick to her stomach. What was once a great planet, the pillar of civilization itself, was now the center of the evil that was the Empire. No, she told herself. That center of evil wasn't the planet. It was wherever Palpatine stood and breathed.

"Oh, but you are wrong, Senator Amidala. Coruscant, the Empire, the galaxy, it is all my sculpture, my art. But I created it with only what was given to me. The darkness in the hearts of both the wicked and the virtuous is my clay." Palpatine walked up beside Padme as both of them looked out the window of the ship down onto the planet. "As I said, I am merely a mirror of the galaxy," he said almost helplessly, "and so is this piece of artwork that I have worked my life to create. The Senate's greed, its ambition, its lust for comfort, for power, that has always been there. The corruption that exists in the politicians precedes us by millennia, Senator, and its darkness will live on long after we are gone." Of course, it was left unsaid that Sidious personally didn't plan on being 'gone' for a very long time.

Padme recoiled as she heard and saw the Emperor standing by her side. As she backed away from him her legs seemed to lose all strength and she fell to the ground. The Emperor of the known galaxy did not seem to notice as he continued.

"I fed them what they wanted. I gave the Senators, the people their deepest, darkest desires. That, _Senator_ Amidala, is the microcosm of the Empire. Not me. I am merely one man."

She wanted to argue back. She wanted to yell that he had lied and manipulated it all. That everyone else was merely bystanders, victims of the dark. But why couldn't she say it? Why wouldn't the words come out of her mouth? Because she saw the truth in his words. He had given her what she wanted.

_…I move for a vote of no confidence in the supreme chancellor…_

She had wanted to save her planet, her people. Her intentions had been pure. Her thoughts turned to Anakin, when he turned. He wanted to save her life. His intentions had been pure. How did such intentions become so twisted and result in such evil, such devastation? And what of the other Senators, the corrupt and the greedy? What became of their ill intentions? Padme did not want to know. The cancer, she realized, lay not in their intentions. The cancer lay within her, within Anakin, within everyone.

Her comprehension couldn't take it anymore as she forced herself to change the subject. "Where's my son," she asked. "Where's Luke?"

"Do not worry about your loved ones. Luke is sleeping peacefully in the next room. Do you really believe that I mean to harm my future apprentice?"

Padme was already exhausted from this conversation with the Sith Lord. Every word he said opened up a little box of horrors for her. Every sentence inflicted more pain upon her guilty heart. She felt dirty besides him. She was afraid that his evil was rubbing off on her. Death would only be a welcome escape.

But she could not die. She remembered her promise to Anakin. As much as being in the presence of a Sith Lord scared her, as much as residing on the dark planet of Korriban scared her, none of that came close to her worst fear now, that she would break her promise to her Anakin.

"And what of me? Are you going to kill me?"

"That," said Sidious calmly, "will depend entirely on the choice of your husband."

* * *

Obi-Wan approached his former apprentice warily. It wasn't that he was afraid of how Anakin would react. He had felt the emotions that raged through his old Padawan. For a few seconds Obi-Wan feared for his own life as well as the lives of the others around them. The battle had just been won, and now the leaders of the rebellion were about to be killed by one of their own as Obi-Wan felt the darkness engulf him.

And then in midst of the darkness Obi-Wan thought he saw a light. He blinked at first, thinking that it was a mere mirage of his fast descending hopes, but when he opened his eyes again the light was even stronger, shining through and penetrating Anakin's despair. The light contained his rage like a damn, and a sudden calmness came over him.

Obi-Wan wasn't afraid of Anakin. It was what Anakin felt that scared him. It scared him because he had never felt such emotions before. But Anakin felt them, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And to Obi-Wan's surprise, he was able to deal with them, balance them, almost. Did he even know his own Padawan anymore? He corrected himself. Anakin wasn't his Padawan. He seemed like a stranger now. Obi-Wan almost wished that he could bring the old Anakin back, turbulence and all.

Anakin stood by the window, looking out into hyperspace. If he felt Obi-Wan approaching he didn't acknowledge it.

"I'm sorry, Anakin. I never should have let Padme and Luke leave like that." Silence. He continued: "You were right, I should have accompanied them."

"No," Anakin said without flinching. "The Emperor attacked them and took them himself. There is nothing you could have done about that, even if you were there. Had you gone with them, I would lost a brother and a friend as well as a wife and a son."

"Can you still feel them, Anakin? Are they all right?" Obi-Wan was sincerely concerned for Anakin's family. He could not imagine living with himself if anything were to happen to them.

"They are safe, for now. I know that." Anakin's eyes still stared out into space. "I'm the one that Sidious wants. He will not do anything to them until he's done with me."

"So you're going to face him."

"Yes."

"Are you ready for that? Do you think you can win? How are you going to accomplish what Master Yoda couldn't even accomplish?"

For a minute Anakin didn't respond. He continued to look out into space, as if he were looking for something. Or someone.

"She's out there somewhere, Obi-Wan. Leia," he said with emphasis. "My daughter." Anakin finally turned around to face Obi-Wan. "You know, on Mustafar I saw visions of my children. I saw them as young adults. As I held Padme's hand while she giving birth to the twins, I did not bother to help her name them. I already knew their names." He paused as he reminisced over that memory. "And yet, I still can't express to you how I felt when she said those two words. Luke. Leia. It felt like a dream come true. It felt like a miracle, I thought. Our children. And now I know that I had known the truth. They are miracles."

Obi-Wan thought it odd that Anakin's eyes were filled with delight in this darkest of hours. Perhaps he is deluding himself, he thought. Perhaps this is how he calms himself before the battle of his life. Perhaps, Obi-Wan thought as he joined Anakin's side by the window, he knows something that I don't.

"Leia," Anakin whispered softly into the air again and again. _My miracle. My savior. My light in the darkness._

_

* * *

_

Wow. Over 10000 hits. Over 100 reviews. I am truly humbled. Sorry about the long wait in updates. This chapter, while it wasn't that hard to write, was hard to start and continue with. The story is almost over now, and the next chapter I am hoping will be out very soon as I've already gone over it in my head a thousand times. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this and to review this. Especially those of you (you know who you are) that have painstakingly reviewed every chapter. Thank you so much.


	17. C15 Shroud of the Shadow

Well, without further ado, the epic will now come full circle.

Chapter 15-Shroud of the Shadow

The cruiser sped through the skies of Coruscant with endless urgency. Inside the vehicle brewed a storm of pure power. There was only one who could calm this storm, and Anakin tried his best not to let it engulf him. He cleansed his mind of all dark thoughts. There was no anger, no hatred, no thirst for revenge. Even the fear was absent. Anakin did not fear for his wife's life. He knew with a certainly as solid as the planet itself that no more harm would come to her; that he would save her. It was to this task that he focused his entire being. He had a job to do, and the weight of his duty left no room for any dark brooding emotions.

To everyone's surprise but his the arrival at the capital of the Empire had gone through without opposition. There was no great fleet or ambush waiting for them, as some of the generals had predicted and warned, when the _Protector _emerged from hyperspace over Coruscant. Still, the Alliance decided to err on the side of caution. They gave Anakin and Obi-Wan a cruiser each and dropped them off to their fates. With that accomplished the flagship quickly fled back into hyperspace and wherever its intelligence officers would deem safe.

Coruscant the planet was calm and tempered, as if already meekly resigned to the darkness that now reigned over it. He had felt her presence on the planet the moment he plunged through its atmosphere. Anakin tried to locate her whereabouts through the Force, but found only darkness. Sidious was masking her, hiding her exact location from him. The entire planet, Anakin felt, was enshrouded under a dark mask, as impenetrable as the one on Korriban. He sent Obi-Wan on a wild-bantha chase to investigate her location, but as much as he hoped for his success, he knew that his friend's search would come up fruitless. There was only one way to find his wife, Anakin knew, and that would be to confront Sidious. It was a job he had to do alone. He was the Chosen One. It was his destiny.

Suddenly he felt her as intensely as if she were holding him in her arms, stroking his hair. She comforted him, warmed him inside like a benevolent blanket. She felt him too, if only for a second before the two were separated again by the darkness. Anakin knew clearly that Sidious was taunting him, egging him on to the path that he was all too willing to take. _Come get me_, the shadow said. Anakin Skywalker obliged him as his cruiser plunged through the darkness, looking for the center of the great void in the Force. The shadow pointed the way to the Senate building.

_Our children are our virtue_.

He had wanted to send her thoughts of comfort and reassurance in the brief moment that they were aware of each other, but instead only that one sentence was relayed between them. Anakin felt it was appropriate.

_Husband and wife bravely marched towards the darkness in a modest domestic Nubian flyer. Neither Padme nor her Anakin knew what to expect on the dreaded Sith homeworld of Korriban. The planet existed within a shadow of mystery. Anakin suspected that the old Temple archives might have had some secret file on Korriban, but there was no way access that now. He could only hope that he would be able to protect his wife and as well as himself from whatever demons lay awaiting them on that planet._

"_Padme," he said gently. The two of them lay in the bed together, her back entrenched in his chest as he gave his wife a soft massage on her shoulders while breathing in the sweet scent of her chestnut hair. She purred in response. "Why did you name our kids Luke and Leia? What do those names mean?" He wanted to get their thoughts off of the subject of the immediate future._

_To his surprise she turned around to face him with a sadness and longing in her eyes. Anakin immediately regretted the question, remembering how much Padme missed her children. However, he soon found out that he was treading on an even touchier subject._

_"I had a twin brother once," Padme said to her confessor._

_"What happened to him," Anakin asked knowing that a tragedy was in the telling._

_"I was born first." She paused, and to Anakin it felt like she was suffocating. He placed his hand on her cheek to placate her._

_"It's okay. You don't have to tell me this if you don't want to."_

_"No. You deserve to know." Padme choked back a sob and continued. "Something went wrong while my mother was giving birth to us. I don't know what exactly happened, but somehow the oxygen to my brother got cut off. He choked to death as I was being delivered. My parents had wanted to name his Luke."_

_"Wow." Anakin didn't know what else to say. He had met Padme's parents before, and he could have never imagined such a loving family to have been touched by such sadness. "Do you think of him a lot?"_

_"Everyday. Sometimes I still blame myself for his death."_

_"You shouldn't. It wasn't your fault."_

_"I know, but I can't help it. Other days I think to myself, what if fate switched it up and he was the one born first, and I was the one who died in the womb?"_

_"Then Naboo would've never had its greatest queen, and we would have never met."_

_Padme smiled at her husband through all her tears. "You know, I've always felt incomplete, as if some part of me was missing. That all changed when I met you." She kissed her husbands lips as they both reassured each of the validity of her statement. "I guess I've always overachieved because I wanted to live for both of us, me and Luke. I wanted to be the best daughter any parent could want. I wanted to make my parents proud not just me, but me and my brother. Maybe the better I was, the more they'll forget about their lost son."_

_Neither of them spoke for minutes. Anakin truly grieved for Padme, but he was also dismayed. They had not even reached Korriban yet, and already the darkness had crept into his family. The darkness had been there before he had even been born._

_Anakin finally broke the silence. "What about Leia?"_

_A soft sparkle crept back into Padme's eyes._

The once great chamber brimmed with anticipation from the living and the dead. Of the many once prominent Senators that stood in the room Sidious cared little for. He had infiltrated them long ago, learned their antediluvian ways, and mined them of all their usefulness. Today the Senate and its members were taking another step towards extinction, but even that step was irrelevant by now.

Sith Lords do have nightmares, and this particular one dreamed of the fall. Palpatine inadvertently glanced downward as he was giving his speech. A chill went up his spine and he once again imagined himself falling down through the eternal darkness below him. The darkness was the dwelling of the ghosts.

Sidious noticed that his ghosts had stopped trying to claw and burrow their way through the darkness protecting him. Billions of them in all, they hovered in an anticipatory purgatory, as if awaiting and observing a momentous occasion. The weight of the whole galaxy seemed to be resting, tipping, in the vast Senate Chamber, and it had nothing to do with the political protocol that the Emperor involved himself with in his speech.

Skywalker was nearing. Sidious braced himself. This would be the final confrontation, that was certain. Whether Skywalker would fall before him or join him again in the darkness, Sidious knew that his apprentice and the future would be decided in this very room. Perhaps that was what the ghosts were waiting for. To see the day that would finally seal their doom. To see the day that the darkness would finally emerge triumphant for all eternity.

The Chosen One barged his way into the great chamber with the apathetic slaughter of Imperial Troopers behind. The roomed hushed and the Emperor himself went quiet as he emerged on the empty pod belonging to the sovereign planet of Naboo and piloted it brashly towards the center of the room. The galaxy was watching.

"Darth Vader, I see you have accepted my invitation. I would have expected to meet you again at someplace more private, but I guess the Senate will do." As he spoke Sidious issued a silent order to his Imperial Guards, stationed minutes away.

"Do not call me Darth Vader. I am Anakin Skywalker." That was true. Everything he was, including the darkness, was still himself. Darth Vader was but a myth.

"Have you come here to assassinate me," the Emperor taunted as the pod from Naboo edged closer.

"I have come to claim my family and fulfill my destiny." Anakin lit his sky blue lightsaber. "Where is my wife and son," he asked threateningly.

Sidious sneered. "I thought Jedi were not allowed to have families."

"Do not call me that. I am neither Jedi nor Sith." He spoke both words with spiteful vehemence, but he emphasized the latter as if to inform the Senators gathered there of the Emperor's true nature. The battle, Anakin realized, would be half a charade. "I am Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One of the Force to bring balance back to the galaxy."

"Such irony then, this alleged balance coming from one who is so unbalanced." Sidious was surprised when his insult seemed to bounce off its target harmlessly. With the seeds of frustration planted he denounced his former apprentice menacingly. "I will tell you what you are. You, Anakin Skywalker," he proclaimed at the top of the voice, as if issuing a decree to the Senators present, "are a traitor. You were a traitor to the Republic, and you are now a traitor to the Empire. You betrayed and slaughtered the Jedi, and you betrayed the Sith. Now you mean slaughter me, your lifelong benefactor."

Anakin still remained unfazed. "What I am is not important. I am not a perfect person," he beseeched the Senators, "but the cause that I represent and embrace is. I stand at the threshold of evil, and I mean to defeat it and purge the galaxy of its cancer. One does not need to be perfect, nor pure of conscience to be righteous." His words left unsaid its beckoning to the Senators, asking them to reexamine their values and their loyalties. There was still a chance for them, he promised, even on the brink of obsoleteness.

Palpatine ignored his words. To acknowledge his rhetoric was to give it a hint of the truth. "I am a merciful man, though, and my Empire is merciful as a reflection of myself. I say this as a message of mercy and goodwill to all. If you repent your wayward actions and pledge your allegiance to the Empire, I will gladly take you back."

"I will never join you, Darth Sidious." His lightsaber glowed brightly in the ever-darkening room.

"So be it, Skywalker." Sidious ignited his red lightsaber as Anakin leaped through the air towards the Emperor's pod.

_Despite all his wisdom, all his knowledge, all his power, Darth Plagueis was ultimately a creature of weakness. An idle aristocrat. A petty bourgeois. He had never met a Jedi before. He had only touched lightsabers with two people, his master and the apprentice that also happened to be his son. Thus Darth Plagueis had no clue on how to react when his sleep was rudely awakened by an invisible Force that clutched at his throat and left his body suspended in the very air that his lungs were cut off from._

_Darth Sidious's eyes were cold as he slowly suffocated his father. They did not betray his excitement, his pure exuberance as he was accomplishing the task the he had secretly planned for over twenty years. The one thing that sustained his will to live._

_"You know, father, I will make you proud." He watched as his father's eyes seemed to bulge out from his skull. "I am going to become a great Sith Lord," he said slowly, enunciating every word. "And one day I will spread the darkness over the entire galaxy. Our darkness." He searched for any pride his father could be feeling, and to his delight he found an inkling of it._

_"But what will bring me my greatest joy, father, is the fact that you will not be alive to see it."_

_As he prepared to deliver the final blow, Palpatine hesitated. He would be nothing without his father. He wouldn't have powers beyond most people's imaginations; he wouldn't have a cushy, wealthy aristocratic and political background. He wouldn't even exist._

_"You know, father," he mused. "I could show mercy. I could kill you, and then bring you back to life again. After all, that is a skill that you have taught me."_

_A glimmer of hope emanated from his father's dying body, and Palpatine felt it. It wasn't pity he felt. It was pure revulsion. The fact that his father could possibly have any human feelings, any emotions, he had denied in his mind long ago. How could he feel, Sidious asked himself, when he had taught his son so painfully and excruciatingly to do exactly the opposite? His resolve returned._

_"But then, father, mercy is a lesson that you never taught me."_

_The desperate despair of father made Sidious even stronger as the tips of his two fingers met each other._

The battle was unlike anything any of the Senators had ever seen. The two warriors ceased to be solid beings as the hands that gripped the jousting lightsabers could barely catch up with the arms and body that controlled them. Twists, turns, and jumps all meshed together into one surreal blur.

The fight was precarious for both involved. Any slip in the toes would send the unfortunate victim plunging hundreds of feet towards the floor of the chamber. Any slip in focus would result in a fatal strike from a blade of pure energy. Anakin would have never believed until now that the darkness possessed any grace, but as his opponent matched his every move with equal power, precision, and speed, it seemed like the entire battle to Sidious was a work of art.

The Force is art, Anakin reminded himself, and he focused his concentration even more deeply into the Force. He stood still like a statue in the middle of the pod and fended off the blows raining down on him as Sidious moved quicker than light from one end to another while still maintaining that his crimson lightsaber be pointed at Anakin. The Chosen One, however, could foresee his every move and met his every attack. Anakin imagined an invisible wall standing between his body and the tip of Sidious's saber. Nothing, the Force told him, could penetrate that wall.

As his defense gave him strength Anakin began to search for weaknesses in his opponent's attacks. To his dismay he found none. His counter-strikes were constantly met in return by the red lightsaber, and he barely had any time to parry away another stab from Sidious afterwards that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Anakin slowly gave in to his frustrations. He was the Force, he felt. He was pure, he was acting strictly according to the light, and yet he could not even begin to penetrate the darkness. Perhaps the darkness was stronger. Anger crept into his soul. He hated the darkness. He hated the perseverance of the darkness, the eternity of it. He was a being conceived for the express purpose of destroying the darkness. He would destroy, no matter what the cost. Anakin's stance became an aggressive one now. He started to chase Sidious around the pod, striking at him with all his power. He pictured his lightsaber penetrating the Sith Lord's body, decapitating him, hacking him into pieces. But his blows were only met by the steel of the pod as the wretched old creature kept eluding him. His rage fed by the failure, Anakin swung his weapon around madly and without pattern, his own skin barely escaping the painful touch of his lightsaber. Sidious seemed to cackle with glee.

Suddenly he became aware of two distinct and familiar presences in the chamber. Taking advantage of his break in concentration, Sidious went back to an old and successful strategy and flung Senate pods complete with Senators in them at Anakin. Focusing on the battle once more, he was able to repel the pods away seconds before they met his body. His minor victory came with costs as the Senators in the pods plunged downward to their deaths.

As Anakin was preoccupied with this, he caught out of a corner of his eye Sidious jumping onto a pod that was flying through the air, his lightsaber slicing through the unfortunate Senator that occupied it. The pod and the Emperor flew across the room away from him. He turned to face the Emperor but his attention went back to the two new audience members observing the battle. To his left at the very edge of the chamber a pod emerged. On it stood an Imperial Guard cradling an infant boy. His son. To his right on the opposite side of the chamber from Luke was a pod that held his Padme, looking as defiant as ever in the strict clutches of two Guards. Straight ahead of him stood the Emperor, laughing evilly as he his words echoed through the room.

"You can't save them both, Skywalker."

_It had been the happiest time of his life. Just him and Padme. It seemed that the two of were all alone, the only ones on the entire planet of Naboo. For the first time it seemed like he was able to truly talk to Padme, to get to know her, to converse with her as an equal without the weight of the world pressing down on their shoulders. He had kissed her, and she had kissed him back. Even though Padme had pulled away all too quickly, Anakin already knew that she felt something for him. There was hope, he told himself, that one day she will be the one to kiss me._

_But the magical thing about that day was that Anakin did not have to worry about the future. He and his love reveled in the present as they ate a satisfying lunch below the waterfalls and wrestled with each other in the sunlit meadows. He felt nothing but pure joy and happiness, and he knew that Padme felt the same way. Was it possible that he was the one who was making her happy? That gave Anakin an even greater joy. As much as he loved her and wanted her for himself, the only thing that mattered was that she was happy. With or without him, he reminded himself._

_As they rode back to the lake lodge on top of the shaak, Anakin knew for certain that they were destined to be together. Excluding the shaak, of course. He had always known, even when he was a little boy. The Force had subtly whispered it to him. Now the Force shouted to him, "SHE NEEDS YOU, SHE LOVES YOU." It didn't hurt that Padme was clutching him so tightly that it truly felt that the two of them were one. Her head lay nestled on his back, and every breath she exhaled onto him breathed life into his soul._

_Anakin was the one who broke the silence. "I've always wondered, angel, where does your name come from? What does Padme mean?" It was only the second time he had called her 'angel', and he was sincerely relieved when she didn't object to it._

_"That's a silly question," she mocked. "What does Anakin mean? What does anything mean?"_

_"I don't know what Anakin means. I've never cared enough to ask."_

_"Padme does have a meaning though."_

_"Other than beautiful angel?" Three times, he thought to himself._

_She laughed nervously. "In your mind, maybe. On Naboo there is a Padme flower."_

_"What does it look like?"_

_"It's a brown flower that grows on the mountainsides, but sticking out of it from the center are these tiny little stamens that sparkle under the sunlight and can be any different color. It has a very full yet soft texture, and its stem is almost unbreakable, which allows it to survive in the rough mountain winds."_

_"The Padme Flower," Anakin repeated to himself more than anything else. "It sounds like the most amazing and beautiful flower on this entire planet."_

_"No. There is another flower." She was interrupted by their arrival at the lodge. Anakin jumped off the Shaak, not really caring to hear about any flower that could rival the Padme in its beauty. He reached his hand out to Padme, and she took it and followed him into the building._

_Anakin would remember that day for the rest of his life. They were so carefree, so happy together, in an ancient age when the galaxy was still innocent. Before the Civil War. Before the Clone Wars. Before the galaxy fell under the shadows of darkness. But now, as Anakin thought back to that day, he realized that the Darkness had already overtaken the galaxy by then._

"Padme," he called out to her across the chamber. She gazed over towards him with a passive longing, as if already resigned to her fate.

"I love you, Anakin Skywalker. I love you." He would rescue her, he told himself as he began to pilot his pod towards his wife. It was then that Luke started crying. Anakin was torn, and soon the voice of the Sith Master interrupted the family reunion.

"You will choose, Skywalker." Sparks of lightning shot out from both Sidious's hands and waited in the air for further instructions from its master. "You have two choices. You may join me and the Empire, and I will allow you to live a full life with your wife. But as you know, there may only be two, and when I retake you as my apprentice I will be forced to kill your son." The lightning from one hand reached across the room until it was halfway between the Emperor and Luke, where it waited further in limbo.

"Choose to defy me, and you will watch your beloved wife die before your very eyes." Lightning shot from his other hand until again it rested halfway between the Sith Lord and former Senator from Naboo. "After that," Sidious speculated, "I doubt that you will have any further will to live. And even if you did, it cannot contradict my will that you will die, and that your son Luke will replace you as my apprentice. It is your choice, Skywalker. Choose wisely, and may the Force be with you in your decision." The Emperor cackled as his last sarcastic statement.

"No." Anakin said this softly at first. This couldn't be. This wouldn't be. Had all that they had been through, all the he had been through, the lightsaber battle between him and Palpatine, had that all been a charade?

"No." This time a little louder. He would break through the charade. He was the Chosen One. He knew he was more powerful than Sidious. He was the Force, and he would protect his own. He would not accept Sidious's alternatives. He would not let the darkness take away his family, _his _family. Sidious had no right.

_Remember, Anakin, there are always more than two choices. _Qui-Gon's words to him echoed in his mind.

"No." This time he shouted it. With hatred, with malice, with murder on his mind. Without even realizing it Anakin's hands began to rise up into the air. How dare Sidious take away his family, his wife? How dare he hurt her, or even touch her? He looked towards Padme but couldn't read her face. He knew what she wanted him to do. She would never want him to join the Empire. She would rather die, and willingly too. But Anakin would never let that happen. He was the Force, he told himself, and the Force would never let that happen. And what use would her death be if it only served as the beginning of the road of Luke's path towards the darkness. Anakin felt hopeless, and he hated being hopeless, being outsmarted, outwitted, and outmaneuvered, being forced into a corner of darkness with no escape in sight.

The lightning poured out of his hands at a speed and rate so fast that Sidious barely had time to pull his hands back and counter it with his own lightning. The dark energies met in between the two as Sith and Skywalker engaged in a battle of wills. Who was stronger? Who had more resolve? Who could hate more?

Sidious felt fear for the first time as he realized that he was being overpowered by Skywalker's darkness. The Force itself was being transformed into waves and waves of anger through the body of Anakin Skywalker, the catalyst. In this reality, the Force was anger, and even Palpatine was not match for the Force itself, he being a mere mortal. The lightning that crept closer and closer to him was as bright as ten suns and as powerful as a black hole. Sidious was afraid now. The ghosts were laughing, he thought. Their day had finally come. That was why they waited. They were crouched, and waiting for their prey to fall.

Anakin had already lost himself in his hatred as he unleashed torrents and torrents of pure dark energy at the object of his wrath. A voice cautioned him, told him that the darkness within him was taking over, that if he did not stop now the darkness would become him. Anakin shrugged that voice away into nothingness. He didn't care anymore. He would do anything to save his family. He would give away his soul. And a part of him enjoyed this release of energy. Finally, Anakin felt empowered, that he could do something, that he could strike back at the forces that had caused him such pain for so long. The forces that imprisoned him in the Jedi temple, the forces that made him care and fear so much for the ones that he loved, the forces that wrecked the galaxy with never-ending war, the forces of betrayal when he found that his own friend and mentor was a Sith Lord, the forces that took away his mother. The forces that still threatened to take away his son and wife. He had no other choices. It was either to give his soul to the darkness, or to see his family destroyed by the darkness.

_Remember, Anakin, there are always more than two choices._ The words echoed through his mind again.

…_remember, Anakin, there are always more than two choices…_

_…remember, Anakin, there are always more than two choices…_

_…more than two choices…_

_…there is another choice…_

_…another choice…_

_…there is another…_

Anakin let go of the darkness.

_He finally broke the silence. "What about Leia," he asked his wife._

_"Leia," Padme replied in an almost wistful tone. "Leia. Leia is a name for a flower of Naboo. A rare one that never sees the light of day. It is found only in the deepest, darkest caves of the mountains. The Leia flower, people say that it glows like a sun in the darkness of the caves. Something about the crystals, I think. Legend says that they are gifts from the gods themselves, sent to our world to guide men through the dark caves back into the light."_

_"Wow," Anakin said, realizing for the first time the amazing and otherworldly background from which his daughter drew her name. "Is the Leia flower real?"_

_"I have never seen one myself, but the flower is real enough. The only person I've known who has actually seen a Leia flower is my grandmother Winama. Way back when she was still a child, a girl from her village disappeared. She went missing for days, and the entire town was in panic. They searched everywhere but couldn't find a trace of her. Most people began to whisper that she got herself lost in the caves. No one dared to wander far into them to look for her as they feared that they would be lost themselves. Then suddenly, one day she emerged safe and sound, clutching a Leia flower in her bleeding hands. She was as thin as a skeleton and could barely muster the strength to speak, but she was still alive. She later said that she was at the brink of death when she wandered onto the flower, and she had used it as a light to find her way out of the caves. My grandmother saw the flower with her very own eyes, and she told me that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life."_

_"I'd like to see one of these flowers with my own eyes."_

_"You know, Ani, that same flower probably still glows with light, even today. They say that the Leia maintains its radiance decades, even centuries, after being picked from the caves."_

_"Whatever happened to the flower your grandmother saw, then? Why wasn't it passed down by the girl for all to see, generations after generations?"_

_"I don't know. No one knows whatever happened to the girl. I think she went on to marry some aristocrat in Theed, but in the years I was Queen I never met any woman who even really had ever heard of the flower."_

_"Next time we go to Naboo, I'm going to pick one for you, Padme."_

_"I believe you."_

"You will never win, Sidious." By now the Sith Lord's lightning was advancing slowly towards him as Anakin's dark energies continued to waver. "Whatever happens in this room, you will still lose. There is another, you know."

Palpatine was at first confused by the words, but to his delight Anakin easily betrayed his thoughts and emotions for all to see and hear.

"A sister," he stated as if unraveling a grand conspiracy. "A sister to Luke, am I right, Skywalker? A twin?"

"Yes," Anakin replied with defiant confidence. "A girl. Her name is Leia."

As Palpatine's shroud began to unravel Anakin let go of everything he was and allowed the full might of Darth Sidious's lightning flow through every inch of his body.

_His task accomplished, Darth Sidious returned to his study an empty man. What purpose was there now that his father was dead? He was a Sith Master, but what did that mean? His father had never taught him what to do when he was a Sith Master. For all he knew, Plagueis had intended him to be his apprentice forever._

_For reasons that he would never know, Palpatine unlocked a lock-box hidden in the recesses of his closet and stared at the glowing flower before him. How had he come to this, he asked the flower? A man alone in the world, a Sith Lord without a cause. The flower didn't answer any of his questions. Instead, it seemed to just accept. It took in his thoughts, his brooding, his pain, and it never judged him for it. For a moment Palpatine almost felt carefree again._

_No, he told himself as dark resolve built in his heart. The flower was his enemy. It made him weak. He was a Sith Lord now, a Sith Master. What more could he ask for? What more could he want? He had a cause. He would wage his holy war against the galaxy, against the light. And the Leia flower before him would be the first casualty of his war. He would destroy it and seal his fate to the darkness._

_And yet again, for reasons he never quite comprehended, he couldn't bring himself to complete as easy a task as crumpling a fragile flower that lay in his hands. Instead he put it back in the lock-box and shut the lid, swearing to never open it again._

_He did open it once more in his life. As a Sith without a master but with still much more to learn about the Dark Side, Darth Sidious made his lonely pilgrimage to the Sith homeworld of Korriban. It was in the dark tunnels under the Sith temple that Palpatine found his final resting place for the flower his mother had given him. He set it on the ground and never looked back. The light will wear out someday, he told himself, and the darkness will reign over the pathetic flower for all eternity._

_But the flower still glowed. It continued to glow for decades until it was found again by a young man seeking to find himself. Anakin was lost until he saw a glimmer in the darkness of the tunnels. He followed that glimmer of light until he found its source, a tiny, fragile flower that lay helplessly on the ground. A Leia flower? He was amazed. Weren't those from Naboo? How did a Leia flower find its way to the darkness of Korriban? Anakin found the answer to his question when he picked the flower up._

And now Anakin accepted. He accepted the lightning freely, willingly. He accepted the dark energies flowing through his body. He accepted the pain. Not his pain, but the pain of Palpatine. He felt his pain again, just like when he had touched the Leia flower in the bowels of Korriban, when felt the pain as clearly as if were his own, when Palpatine's life seem to flash before his eyes. More accurately, when he himself lived through the years of Palpatine's life in the course of only a few seconds.

He lived it again. He painted as vivid a picture as he could in his mind. He imagined himself being beat and tortured by his dad, he felt the pain of watching his dad do the same to his mother. He experienced the conflict and the pain of having to plunge his lightsaber through the heart of his mother. He lived the self-hatred and disgust of one whose entire existence had been created as an experiment for the purpose of evil, of the darkness. The Chosen One was the Force. He was the catalyst. He sucked the darkness into his body, his soul. He purged the darkness into nothingness and called out for, no, begged for more.

Palpatine to his horror had lost complete control of his reality. Skywalker was powerful, he realized now, knowing that it was too late. The man was a black hole. He sucked in his lightning as if it were nothing. His malevolent attacks left no ill effects on the man's body or his soul. Palpatine tried to stop the flow of electricity from his hands, but he couldn't fight against the black hole that was the Force itself. He felt like his entire soul was being pulled in past the event horizon.

As his mighty shroud tore apart and disappeared into oblivion it revealed a withered, sad little man helpless against the carnage. The ghosts seemed to salivate at the chance. The barrier was finally broken, and the ghosts tore at him relentlessly, the billions of them. They clawed bottomless scratches into his soul, they burned his eyes to the point where he could not see, their silent accusations paralyzed him to the point where he could not move.

Reality did not exist for Palpatine anymore. He was lost. He was falling through the darkness. He would fall forever. And the ghosts followed him on a trail blazed by vengeance, each one clamoring for its chance to add to his darkness. If there were a hell, Palpatine realized, he was living in it.

The lightning had ceased, Anakin realized. He woke in a daze and examined his arms. They are as unscathed as the skin of his newborn children. He looked around him, and the entire Senate chamber looked back in unabashed awe and disbelief. They had witnessed a sight they had never seen before and would never see again. They had witnessed the pure might and truth of the Force.

His former enemy stood paralyzed on the pod before him, his gnarled arms still raised and his body frozen for what seemed to be eternity in its contorted state. His hood had fallen and his eyes stared blankly into the void. And yet Anakin knew that Palpatine was still alive. As his pod moved slowly across the chamber towards the fallen Emperor, Anakin felt the scent of an endless and unnatural darkness swirling around Palpatine, almost as if it were attacking him and stabbing him with its sharp tendrils. Anakin had a hint of what Palpatine was going through, and he wondered even now if he deserved that kind of pain.

It was a glimmer at first and barely registered in Anakin's consciousness. But it was there, as real as the darkness, and just as powerful. Two benevolent presences, it seemed, full of light, full of generosity, full of kindness, full of forgiveness. The light, a light that no one else in the chamber saw or felt, started to slowly but surely penetrate through the darkness that engulfed the former Sith Lord, almost as if it were reaching out to him. Anakin ignited his lightsaber again.

_He felt the cold warmth of the crimson lightsaber at his temple, daring him to incur its wrath._

_"Do not doubt, son," his father said. "Do not have mercy. You have only two choices, but they are yours to make. Kill her, or be killed."_

_It was a miracle that Palpatine's shaking hands was able to even grasp the cold steel of the lightsaber. He dared not ignite it, for he feared what he would do once it was on. He feared that he would give in to his selfish thoughts, his darkness, his pure instinct that called to him "SURVIVE! No matter what the consequences, SURVIVE! LIVE!"_

_His mother made it easier for him. She reached out her arm and caressed the hand that held the lightsaber. She ran her fingers lovingly across his swelled and bleeding knuckles and pressed her thumb on the back of his hand to comfort and reassure him. Then, her fingers found their way to the handle of his lightsaber, and with the same thumb she pushed down on the button that activated the weapon._

_"Do it, my son. There is nothing else I wish for. My life has been nothing but pain, and death would be a blessing. Especially if through my death you will find life."_

_He his grip on the weapon still waved. Tears began to form in his eyes. His father's blade nudged even closer to his own head._

_She continued: "Do it. Save yourself. I want you to kill me, Palpatine. I would rather die at the innocent hands of my son than at the hands of the cowardly swine that is his father."_

_He had no restraint for the tears now. His entire reality was pain. The pain threatened him, it seduced him, it called his name, and it welcomed him. The pain educated him, teaching him how to block it. He knew that there was only one way to placate the pain, even if it was only temporary._

_"I love you, Palpatine. I will always love you, be it in life or in death. You are MY son, and I will love you no matter what you do. Death cannot stop from being there for you."_

_His hand thrust forward against his will. He couldn't see her die as his tears blocked his vision, but he felt her presence disappear into the darkness. But the pain lived on. The pain survived. The pain lingered, and it gained power beyond imagination. The revelation was his now, but it was too late. The pain had lied._

Darkness. Then a glimmer of a pure light. At first it seemed to be blue, as blue as the Nubian sky itself. Then the light transcended all concepts of color as it gained in strength and pierced through the darkness. The ghosts seemed to shudder in its presence. Fear gave way to oblivion as the impossible happened. The ghosts disappeared, faded into the Force from whence it came. There was only the light now. So strong, so full of love.

_Mother?_ The light acknowledged him benevolently. _Lade?_ He had barely known her, but yet here she was, comforting him at the end. And his mother. For the first time in his life Palpatine felt the warmth of the Force. There was so much light, he discovered. More than he could ever imagine.

The shroud, he decided, was a dream.

The lightsaber that pierced through his heart was reality, and it was a virtue.


	18. C16 Will of the Senate

Ok, a short chapter, especially following the last couple of posts. There are two chapters left, and I will get at least one of them posted by tonight, if not both. Again, thank you all for all of your reviews and kind words.

Chapter 16-Will of the Senate

Confusion reigned in the chamber as the Senators of the Empire emerged from their long hibernation. Even in the age of the Republic it had been a machine of corruption, and the purges of the Empire rid the body of mostly anyone with integrity and democratic values. What remained were the old Supreme Chancellor's most fanatic followers as well as a cadre of younger ideologues seduced by what seemed to be the unlimited supply of power offered by the Empire.

Bail Organa was one of the few uncorrupted ones who still held firm to his heart the ideals of the Old Republic, but unlike the extremists, he was a man willing to compromise for the benefit of the galaxy. A brilliant politician in his own right, Bail always preferred the power of righteous persuasion as opposed to the more popular method of manipulation. However, he knew that the presentation that he now gave preyed at the hearts gathered in the panicked room.

Even the most convinced followers of the Emperor had been shocked at the action that played out right before their eyes. To see their beloved Emperor fighting with a lightsaber with the quickness and agility of a young man disproved any held perceptions they had of him, but the dark lightning that poured out of his hands sent chills even down the bravest of souls. The more knowledgeable ones recognized those abilities as one belonging to historical Sith Lords, the realization striking a tender cord in their cognitive processes. The Sith were known to have been the sworn enemies of the Republic and many times came within only a few drops of fate from destroying it completely. Unfortunately, few made the connection that this new Sith Lord had succeeded, albeit briefly, where his predecessors had not.

The evidence offered by Senator Organa worked to seal the diminishing legacy of Palpatine. With the fact that the old Chancellor had been a Sith, there was no more need for Bail to present the evidence he had gathered on Yavin IV identifying Palpatine as the Dark Lord Sidious. Despite this, many of the Senators were not preoccupied with the ancient wars. They had made their marks and careers on the new ones, and even with what they just witnessed, they still harbored some aspects of admiration towards the Emperor as a wise leader who guided the Republic through the turbulent years of the Clone Wars. Perhaps he wasn't all bad, they now thought, but he was corrupted by power, a sentiment that the gathered were all too familiar with.

The last shards of that admiration shattered when it was established by the honorable Senator Organa that Palpatine had created the Separatist threat by himself in order to secure his hold over the ruling body. Even his original election lost its credibility as it was revealed that he had masterminded an invasion of his own planet in order to gain the sympathy votes.

With all their illusions vanished, the still traumatized members of the Senate awoke to a future that seemed even darker than the years that just recently had passed them over. Though they were barely a year into the Galactic Empire, there was already a complete dearth of leaders in the chamber who possessed any vision or initiative. Most of these men and women were drawn to their present occupations by the worship of power. Power for themselves, of course, but power from themselves, even more so. They were comfortable in the presence of one as powerful as the Emperor Palpatine as they were able to absolve whatever qualms they had about their own personal responsibilities, instead leaving it all into the hands of one who proclaimed his wisdom above all others.

Power was the key to unlock their hearts. Power was what these Senators needed to fill the holes in their souls. And to their relief, they had just witnessed the greatest display of power ever recorded in the history of sentience.

It began as a loud murmur even in the midst of Bail Organa's presentation. In the indecisive confusion that followed the murmur began to take its shape as the one true voice of reason. To the dismay of the honorable Senator from Alderaan, its momentum seemed to be gaining strength without end.

* * *

Padme had learned long ago to never be surprised by what her husband could do. There was no need to thank him for saving her life once again. She wanted to do so, but knew that he cared not for her gratitude as much as the simple fact that they were together.

It was over. The nightmare had passed. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off the shoulders of the galaxy, never to return its burden again. Padme felt free now, free of a feeling of dread that seemed to have haunted her all her life, a tingling feeling on her neck that always seemed to make her look around for the culprit, even though she could never find it. It was that feeling of doubt that made her question the choices she made late into the hours of the morning. It was the feeling despair whenever something in the Galaxy went wrong and she could do nothing about it. They were feelings that never crossed her conscious thoughts when they were present, but now were glaringly noticeable after they had been purged.

There was only the now, and it was magnificent. To be in her Anakin's arms, to bury her face deep into his shoulders, to feel his gentle hand stroke her hair and then finally, his lips in hers. She devoured them, knowing that her hunger would never be fully quenched in this lifetime. They were together. They were free. They were in love, and the entire galaxy was watching in adoration. All senses of privacy disappeared in a fleeting moment as Padme wanted to shout at the top of her lungs her happiness, to proclaim for the world their love, to tell everyone watching that the great Anakin Skywalker and his lips belonged to her and her alone. But she did none of all that. She only kissed him back in endless bliss. Words were not necessary, as their actions accomplished more than whatever speech they could give.

The burden of secrecy was finally over. Let the adoring galaxy share their love and fawn over their joy to their desperate hearts' content. Only her and her Anakin knew the secret, and that was that no mere galaxy was vast enough to contain their feelings for each other.

But the galaxy was a demanding mistress, and it soon forced itself in as a wedge in between their rapture. The galaxy demanded more of them, and the Senators demanded their new Emperor. It was an almost spontaneous coronation already set in stone even without the consent of the coronated.

And it was Padme's worst fear. To see her husband seduced again by the promise of unlimited power. As the chants grew louder, the action of ignoring the will of the mob was approaching impossibility. They withdrew from their kiss, and Padme saw her husband in deep concentration. She prayed with diminishing hopes that he would not accept the crown. If he were to do so then he would betray all the ideals that she had lived her entire life for. She wondered if she could coexist with the idea of a continuing Empire, even one under the rule of her husband. What did she fear more? The loss of democracy, or the loss of the man without whom she would regress to being an empty shell of a woman? What was the meaning of her life? The ideals she believed in, or the man that she loved?

Perhaps she could learn to accept the idea of an Empire, she reasoned. A new revelation came to her as she imagined what would happen to the galaxy if these Senators weren't appeased to their full satisfaction. She doubted that these former cronies of Palpatine would willingly revert the government back to the way it was under the old Republic. And even that Senate had been hopelessly corrupt. Could she really leave the galaxy in the hands of a decaying group of conscience-less dandies who cared nothing more than lining their own pockets with money and their own hearts with power? Without a leader they would drive the galaxy to disaster together and then tear each other apart. Or a new leader could emerge. Either the Senate would appoint another Emperor to fix the mess they caused, or a new despot would rise from the chaotic ruins of the Senate. At least Anakin was her husband, and she knew that she had his ear. Perhaps with her guidance he would become a truly wise ruler.

But how could Padme be sure that Anakin would heed her words. It suddenly became more and more certain in her mind that despite her husband's love for her, his taste of power would eventually take over his soul and push her out of his life. No, she decided. It wasn't that she and the ideal of the Empire could not coexist with each other; it was that in her husband's mind, she and his ideal of power could not coexist.

"Please Anakin, if you really love me, don't accept this. I beg you, don't." She grabbed both his hands and clutched them tightly to clarify her position.

Throughout all of her tortuous analysis Anakin had been examining her with a look of curiosity and what could have almost been eagerness. He kissed her forehead to reassure her and said simply, "I will do what is needed, my Angel." He released her hands and faced the Senate.


	19. C17 Coronation

One more epilogue after this, and I will have it done by tomorrow night.

Chapter 17-Coronation

_"All hail The Hero With No Fear!"_

"_All hail Emperor Anakin Skywalker!"_

"_All hail the Emperor!"_

As he listened to their chants Anakin could not help but feel a growing contempt for the supposed elite of the Republic. They were politicians, first of all, and few of them compared to the better and rare ones that had gained Anakin's respect through the years that he served them. _How ironic_, he thought. _All these years I have clamored to wipe the blood off the back of you leeches, and now you are begging me to be your Emperor._ He was the leeches' new prey, Anakin realized, and he hated them all.

But hate wouldn't help him right now. Hate wouldn't help Padme either, and it certainly wouldn't help the Republic that she loved so much. _Well, not the Republic, exactly_. Whatever it was, it needed him to act a politician's role. He would do what was needed. Anakin had promised that to his wife. And Anakin would take the path that the Force was subtly nudging him towards.

He raised his arms, beckoning the crowd with his outstretched palms to settle down.

"Honorable Senators," he cried, his voice blasting far beyond the walls of the chamber itself. "It is with great humility that I hear your pleas. Today, you ask me to serve. I have served all my life. Call it what you will, an Empire, a Republic. I call it a Galaxy brimming with life and light, and I have done my best to serve it."

The anticipation rose to even higher levels. There was no doubt among those gathered what the end result of this speech would be. Only one heart still held hopeful doubt. Padme pleaded to her husband with her eyes, but he did not see her.

"I have served for as long as I know, but in this short life that I have known, I have only served as a warrior. That is what I am, and that is what I know. I have never been known to serve with balance, with justice, with vision, nor with wisdom. I wield an extraordinary power, that is true. But again, I have only used that power in action and never in vision. The few times that I have tried have led to disaster.

I am not a perfect man by any means. I am prone to faults that are, incidentally, common knowledge to many of us here. I have been known to be possessive, jealous, hateful, and yes, extremely fearful. These qualities may come handy in my role as a warrior, but they will be utterly detrimental in any role as a leader.

Honorable Senators, the darkness that enveloped this galaxy for so long has died along with the previous Emperor, Palpatine. We enter today into a hopeful and glorious age of peace, but there is no role in peace for the warrior. If I were to accept the crown that you are promising me today, I promise that I will at worst an evil and tyrannical dictator, and at best an ineffective and weak figurehead.

But I am still a servant today, as I have always been. And though I have no desire to rule and hold unlimited power, I will do what I need to serve this Galaxy well. I, Anakin Skywalker, accept the position of Emperor that you have given to me."

Padme's heart sank into the icy depths of hopelessness.

"I do this for two reasons. First, I accept the crown to set an example, a precedent that I hope will be followed by those who succeed me. I promise that I will willingly give up my title and all my powers when the time calls for it.

And that time is now.

Because the second reason that I have accepted this title of Emperor is to appoint my successor, one who possesses all the qualities I lack. She has the vision and wisdom that I severely lack. She has been born with an extraordinary aptitude for grace and compassion that my soul will never touch. And most importantly, she has a spine of dura-steel when it comes to her beliefs in what is right. Those beliefs are most important, because she believes in qualities such as freedom, justice, and liberty for every soul in this galaxy, from the powerful Senators to the powerless beggars, from the righteous warriors to the wayward smugglers. She has the experience too. At fourteen she became the greatest queen her planet had ever seen and guided Naboo successfully through her greatest crisis. She has also been a longtime colleague of yours. I know that those of you who may have served with her before the inception of the Empire may have disagreed with her, but I also know that in the bottom of your hearts you still hold the mightiest respect for her, because she is the perfect model of a Senator as well as the perfect prototype for a leader. That is why today I, the legitimate Emperor Anakin Skywalker, choose to abdicate my throne and hand over all the powers that come with it to my successor, the Empress Padme Naberrie Amidala Skywalker, if she would choose to accept it."

He turned and looked over at his wife, who still showed visible signs of shock. In only mere minutes Padme had journeyed from supreme happiness to dreadful fear and finally to eternal despair. She had yet to recover from any of those emotions, and now he wanted her to be an Empress.

_Please do this_, he sent her through the Force his thoughts. _I would love nothing more than for the two of us to return to Naboo and raise our family, but this galaxy needs you._

_Anakin, you know that to accept this crown would betray all of the ideals that you have just mentioned._

_You would not only betray yourself but betray the galaxy as a whole if you leave it in the paws of these scavengers._

_But Anakin, you ask me to take over an Empire. That very word makes me sick to my stomach._

_Then make it into something else then. Dedicate your work as Empress to destroy the very Empire under you and mold it into a more perfect Republic than the one you served as a Senator._

_That all sounds good, but what if I can't? What if MY pride or greed got in the way? What if in my efforts to shape a utopia I end up repressing and purging all who stood in my way?_

_I know you better than that. And Padme, as your husband I will always be here for you. I will always love you, but I will always remind you of the precedent that I have set, and when the time comes, I will remind you of the choice that only you can make to give up your power. There is nothing more powerful than that._

_Anakin, I still don't know. We'd be giving into the mob if I were to accept this._

_Padme, accept to crown to give them what they want, but serve the crown to give them what they need._

Those words vaguely sparked what was already a distant memory in her mind. As she stepped forward up to the podium in their pod, Padme felt it more and more appropriate by the second that she would be given a chance by her husband to put out a fire that she had helped ignite in the first place. And to give her that chance he had made his own ultimate sacrifice of ultimate power. She felt Anakin nudge her on and then fade into the background the pod. Padme Naberrie Amidala Skywalker faced the Senators in their spotlight.

"Honorable members of the Senate gathered here today, I accept the title of Empress not to rule over you and dominate over the galaxy with unreasonable power. Instead, I come before you with hopes that we may all work together to serve and to forge a greater future than we have all known in our lifetimes.

I promise to live up to the lofty praise that my husband has spoken of in my favor, but it will be my ultimate goal not to _rule_, but to _lead_, and lead with balance. I will keep leading until the day in which the title that I hold will only be one in name. I will keep leading until the day in which every sentient being in this galaxy will have their chance to bathe in the joys of liberty, freedom, security, and peace without an Empress nor an Empire to lean on. And when that day comes, I will follow the courageous example set forth by my husband and I will step down. I promise you that as well, and you may hold as collateral the fact that there is nothing I desire more than to live with my husband and raise my children in a peace that will be shared by everyone else equally, near and far."

Her speech was short but effective. The chamber burst into wholehearted applause as even the most jaded Senators felt in their hearts a new hope for a brighter future. As Anakin soaked in the sights, sounds, and feelings of the room, he knew that the unadulterated worship of his wife would not last, but he trusted in the Force that it will continue to guide his family as it had guided him so well so far.

Anakin thought he saw a familiar spirit floating over the chamber. A bearded man adorned in the plain colors of the Jedi robes smiled back at him.


	20. Epilogue Legends

Sorry for the long delay in posting this. I was stuck in a funk for awhile, then got distracted, then had a broken computer. Here is the last chapter to Shroud of the Shadow though, and I hope you all enjoy it. I sincerely thank everyone who had read this story that I have so enjoyed writing, and I am eternally grateful to all that took the time to respond and review the story. Finally, I would like to thank God, the true Force of our lives, for giving me the inspiration and the ability to start and continue to the end this tale.

* * *

Epilogue-Legends

The stars shone brightly in the dark Naboo sky. Brighter than usual, thought Padme, because they shone with the light of freedom. It was too bad though, she reasoned, that this freedom they thought they had gained was still nothing more than an illusion. Because of the existence of her, and her title. That would all change though. The Empress would see to it. A whole military had to be disarmed. Imperial Governors had to be peaceably removed. A Senate had to be reformed.

Empress Padme's most daunting challenge yet, however, had been her own allies. The Senators she especially called out to return and serve the Empires were the same ones who had risked life and limb opposing it. She was making inroads into their faith and loyalty though. Her smartest move so far was when she adroitly appointed her most vocal and credible opposition to the highest positions. Bail Organa was now the Chancellor of the Senate, and Mon Mothma held the title of Imperial Minister with the task of reaching out to and helping the thousands of worlds that had been damaged by the Empire under Palpatine. Both of them sat on the newly created Imperial Council, whose task was to hold in check the ultimate power held by the Empress. Many actions, including the declaration of war and the deployment of the military, had to be approved by the Council and not just the Empress alone.

It was not a perfect system yet, concluded Padme, but perhaps one day it will be. Padme hoped that she herself would not be a roadblock in that certain course of events.

The flames burned passionately in front of them, and as they burned Anakin felt the flames of his own heart fade into idleness. It was a lonely end to a former Emperor and Supreme Chancellor, but it was a better ceremony than most people felt that he deserved. They stood in a spot below the cliffs, and above them was a certain window in the Royal Palace of Theed. The Empress wore a simple and unadorned green dress that only dragged slightly behind her. Padme had insisted that she would never wear a physical crown, and for this occasion she let her wavy hair hang down naturally to her shoulders and beyond. Anakin, officially the Royal Consort, wore a newly tailored Nubian robe, the brightness of its blue hues almost rivaling the eyes of the one that wore it.

The royal couple stood side by side, arms around each other, and across from them on the other side of the pyre and the flames that engulfed the former Emperor stood Obi-Wan, still wearing the simple robes of the Jedi.

_He never had a chance_, Anakin thought. Some part of him would always hate the man that tried to make him a Sith Lord, but Anakin found it harder and harder to find his hate for a dead man. More than anything else he felt pity for something that could have been himself.

"He never had a chance." This time he said it out loud. Two heads turned.

"What do you mean," asked Obi-Wan from across the pyre.

"I'm lucky. The Force has given so much: a beautiful wife, two wonderful children, and the wisest mentor and best friend. It's given me every possible chance to look back on my life and my actions and to correct what I've done wrong." Anakin's stare melded with the fire that now consumed any traces of what used to be a human body. "But Palpatine, he never really had a choice. He was born and beaten into the shape of a Sith. He never really knew any other path."

"One cannot begin to interpret the ways of the Force, Anakin." It was appropriate, for as the words came out of his mouth Obi-Wan had to endure the relentless torment of confusion. He had not been in the Senate Chamber when Anakin stuck down the Sith Master. All he could depend on was hearsay, holo-net images, and vague tremors in the Force he felt as he pursued a meaningless mission. But even had he been at the site of the action Obi-Wan knew that the logical part of his mind would still not be able to interpret that day's extraordinary events.

There had been a great battle. He had seen that. Then Anakin's family was brought out. After that came the most troubling of all in Obi-Wan's mind. Anakin had attacked the Emperor with Sith Lightning, the most twisted of all the Dark Side techniques. But the Dark Side had not consumed Anakin. His old Padawan seemed to have shrugged the darkness off as if it were a minor inconvenience such as a slight fever. Though he puzzled over it, that paradox still held some comfort for Obi-Wan because he knew what had happened and he knew where he stood on the issue.

Now, he heard himself speak, "Perhaps the Force can even use the Dark Side as a means sometimes. That doesn't mean I approve of some of your methods, but it seemed to have worked. I would feel better though, Anakin, if we meditated on your use of the Dark Side, to truly clear our minds on the issue." To clear his mind, more than anything else. Anakin nodded respectfully towards his old matter, but Obi-Wan's mind was elsewhere.

For after the Sith Lightning everything else became a blur. The holo-net recordings showed only Anakin absorbing the lightning with no more ill effects than a gentle spring breeze would leave on a man's body. Then, nothing. Palpatine stood paralyzed, and Anakin silently approached and executed what seemed to be already a dead man.

Obi-Wan continued his words in an emotional, though not audio monotone: "But Palpatine, you seem to know more about him than I or anyone else in this galaxy could claim to know. I believe you when you tell me that he has suffered much in his life. But maybe his suffering had a purpose. Just as you used to Dark Side to fulfill your destiny, the Force used his pain and the pain he caused to purge the Galaxy once and for all of the Sith."

His words were not premeditated, but Obi-Wan had the sudden revelation that he had somehow stumbled upon the linings of a greater and more powerful truth. He still did not see the whole picture though. What the Force told him during that cryptic minute rivaled what he observed on the holo-net. Something was going on. But he surmised that even the wise Yoda would not be able to interpret whatever happened. It felt like to Obi-Wan that all the lines were blurred and all the barriers of the known universe had been shattered. It felt like the entire galaxy, the entire Force itself was gathered in a nexus point originating from a Senate chamber that he himself for some reason had been absent from. Even from the other side of the planet the Force swirled about him and howled at his ears. What truly terrified him was the lack of any boundaries. Light was dark, dark was grey, grey was light. Past, present, and future meshed together in an invisible painting in which Obi-Wan found himself trapped in and not even able to perceive the nearest horizons.

"Anakin," some part of his brain heard Padme say. "Don't worry about Palpatine. He is the past now. I pray that he will soon be a forgotten legend, existing only in the whispers of ghost stories that the fearful tell."

Obi-Wan Kenobi performed his own quiet inquisition. Why could he not perceive the Force anymore, or rather, the newer aspects of it? Was he doing something wrong? Had the Force passed him over? What did Anakin know, or feel, that Obi-Wan didn't?

"I think we'll be legends too," he heard Anakin confide to his wife.

The future seemed as uncertain as the recent present to Obi-Wan. The Jedi had always served the Senate and the Republic, that was true. It was his job to rebuild the Jedi now. That was a much more promising task than what he would have imagined even weeks ago. More and more survivors from the great purge turned up everyday as news of the great change was brought forth to their ears. They had even found some thirty Jedi Padawans in the Imperial dungeons. The young ones had suffered, but they would recover. The thought that Master Yoda was with them now reassured Obi-Wan. The wise one would certainly be able to counsel and comfort the young Jedi and help them rise above the darkness that they had just endured. The burden of the future did not rest solely on Obi-Wan's shoulders, but he found himself closest to the uncertainties. It was much better to have a benevolent Empress rather than a Dark Lord of the Sith ruling over the Galaxy, but Obi-Wan still questioned whether he, or more importantly, or any other Jedi would be able to acquaint themselves with their new role as servants of an Empire. That is, if the Empire still had any use for the sovereignty of the Jedi.

"What kind of legend do you fancy yourself as," he heard the Empress ask the Consort.

And what was Anakin these days? His old Padawan seemed determined to put to a halt the legacy of Anakin Skywalker the Jedi. Obi-Wan still could not stop caring for him as a student and a child. No matter what the circumstance, Obi-Wan told himself, he would always want the best for Anakin Skywalker. And that was his dilemma, wasn't it? Was Anakin better or worse than he had been before the recent harrowing events? Did his refusal to return to the Jedi signal a fall from grace and the light, or a transcendence into a larger world?

He heard Anakin answer a question, though regretfully, not his. "Years from now, Padme, they will speak of the Legend of Anakin Skywalker, loving husband and father."

Staring at the embracing couple through the translucent fire, Obi-Wan never felt a greater barrier between his old Padawan and himself. Perhaps the barrier was not one-sided, either. Anakin Skywalker did not seem to notice the presence of Qui-Gon Jinn staring menacingly down at Obi-Wan from the burning pyre. There was none of the warmth in the eyes of the man that Obi-Wan Kenobi had known as his old master and best friend.

"I am not Obi-Wan Kenobi," the spirit scolded with a harsh coldness that contrasted sharply with the burning flames from whence it came from. Obi-Wan then watched speechlessly his old mentor disappear into the dark night.

The End.

* * *

But not completely.

We will find out more about the reign of Empress Padme in the sequel to this story, "Purge of the Sith." Look for it on the boards here soon!


End file.
